There will be no increase in taxes or freezing of incomes. The hole in the budget is about 18 billion leva. Conditionally speaking, 12 billion must be found in one form or another. I am convinced that it will be found. The Ministry of Social Affairs will not be affected in any way, and people will not feel a lack of funds.
This was stated in "The Day Begins with Georgi Lyubenov" by the Minister of Labor and Social Policy Borislav Gutsanov.
It is guaranteed that there will be pensions and social payments, he added. The biggest hole in the budget comes from the increase in pensions and salaries in the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Interior. Gutsanov, however, specified that these are decisions of the National Assembly.
"Furthermore, these people deserve it - some have given their lives so that we have this country at the moment, and others are defending it".
The Council of Ministers will decide whether to encroach on the fiscal reserve, but even if such a step is taken, it will be very limited.
"The fiscal reserve is currently 9 billion and 200 million leva. The minimum that should always be maintained is 4 billion and 200 million leva, i.e. there is enough reserve".
The budget will be submitted to parliament by mid-February, by then there are views on how to make up for the 18 billion, Gutsanov commented. According to him, the refusal to request a convergence report for the eurozone is not a mistake.
"First, the real financial situation should be seen, a budget should be submitted and adopted, and only then can we talk. The BSP has said that we should enter the eurozone when we are ready".
He indicated that he had ordered a check on whether the Ministry of Social Affairs can allocate funds to the victims of the explosion in Bankya. "If they meet the conditions, they will receive assistance from the ministry. It is about a little under 2,000 leva per person. What is possible will be done by us".
It is normal for there to be upheavals and deviations at the beginning - this is how Gutsanov commented on the requests of the partners in "BSP - United Left" on leaving the coalition:
"I think that a way will be found, including to Mrs. Manolova, to speak out, because the lines she sets are also our views".
Regarding his candidacy for BSP chairman, he stated:
"I had announced that I would run for BSP chairman at the end of June, if this policy, of which I was the exponent, is accepted - for an end to the wars in the BSP, for the unification of the left and for an end to the war with the president. It is evident that we have set out to make this unification, this path is indisputable and we are stopping the internal battles".