The deficit for the first quarter of the year is 3.684 billion leva, we have very difficult and serious trials ahead. This was warned by Finance Minister Temenuzhka Petkova at a briefing after the end of the first meeting of the Council of Ministers of the regular government of Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov.
"We have decided to withdraw the draft of the State Budget Act for 2025, submitted by the caretaker government, as well as the laws on the budget of the NHIF and the National Social Security Institute. The reason for this is that Bulgaria already has a regular government with its own policies, which should be reflected in the Budget Act for 2025. We have decided to withdraw the tax laws as well," said Temenuzhka Petkova.
By February 14, the draft budget law will be submitted to the Council of Ministers and the procedure in the National Assembly for its approval will follow.
"We will propose that it be revised properly, that we make the best decisions, so that we propose a budget that reflects and has a deficit of up to 3% of GDP, as provided for by the Public Finance Act and the requirements related to Bulgaria's membership in the eurozone. This will be a difficult task."
"We are working under the conditions of the so-called extended Budget Act, that is, until the end of March we can work within the framework of the extended law. We conducted an analysis at the Ministry of Finance to see what the numbers show and how we can cover all the usual costs of the systems in the state so that they function normally. Revenues for January are 3.684 billion leva, expenses are 3.277 billion. There is a deficit of 407 million 555 thousand leva. For February, the deficit will be 1.735 billion. For March, the deficit is 1.491 billion leva. For the first quarter, the total deficit will be 3.634 billion leva. I can certainly say that this result is a consequence of the unreasonable use of public funds over the last three years. In order to finance this deficit and for the state to function normally until the adoption of the state budget, we discussed with our colleagues using funds from the reserve to cover current expenses for January. If approved, at the next meeting of the Council of Ministers we will determine the amount of funds to ensure the necessary liquidity."
„We have very difficult and serious tests ahead of us related to public finances. In order to achieve a budget with a deficit of up to 3%, there will be a mobilization of all efforts to deal with this difficult situation for the country."
The Finance Minister admitted that she is worried about the country's financial stability.
"The time has come when we must pay the bill".
Temenuzhka Petkova summarized that Bulgaria does not currently meet the only criterion for price stability in order to become part of the eurozone.
"At the moment, the only criterion that Bulgaria does not meet is the criterion for price stability. On January 17, Eurostat information was released. Bulgaria does not meet this criterion by 0.1 percentage points, which is an extremely small shortfall. When we meet this criterion, we will request the preparation of convergence reports."