Figures, percentages, convergent reports, analyses and not a word for more than a month about what the 2025 Budget will actually be. This was told to journalists in Delchevo by Vice President Iliana Yotova, BTA reports. She is a guest at the wine festival in the village, which is being organized for the 20th consecutive year.
This is the most important law in the country for every single year, she said.
What will be the priorities, how can we make people's incomes calm down, Yotova pointed out. “I'm not even saying to raise prices, but to calm down, because anyone who has ever gone into a store knows very well how prices skyrocket every day“, she commented and added: “When we talk about inflation, let's ask people how they see these same percentages that were last year“.
Have you heard talk in the last month about how the regions in the country will develop through this budget. Given that projects under the operational programs have been practically stopped for years, the vice president asked and added that she did not even want to comment on the topic of the Recovery and Resilience Plan.
So far, I have not heard a single proposal. From its beginning, this discussion has been used more for political confrontation inside the parliament, even before the draft budget has been introduced, Iliana Yotova also commented and pointed out that unfortunately there is no vision of what the country should look like. According to her, there is more talk about taking away funds than about how good results for Bulgaria can be achieved in this relatively limited budget, within which they have to work.
Asked if she believes the figures in the budget that are mentioned in public, the vice president said: Honestly, I'm already lost. Even from the ruling party, from the largest party within the coalition, we hear different signals. I expect that in the coming days we will finally receive this analysis and see the real situation, said Yotova.
In response to a question about what she expects the priorities of the formed government to be, she commented: “It is undoubtedly a very complex coalition with very serious responsibilities and compromises on the part of the various parties. And in their next actions, in the coming months, they must show that they made these compromises for good reason and defend what they entered the coalition with. Especially when it comes to developing the regions and preserving people's incomes.
Very quick intervention by the government and a conversation first with the European Commission (EC), because the conditions that were set to receive the remaining five tranches are actually practically unfulfillable as of today, answered Iliana Yotova when asked what the chances are of receiving funds under the Recovery Plan. She added that she also relies on a certain flexibility of the EC, so that they can quickly finish their work in parliament, because some of these conditions are related to certain laws.
Yotova does not think that the postponement of the request for the convergence report on the introduction of the euro is a “big drama”. I dare to believe the Minister of Finance Temenuzhka Petkova at the moment, who says that the postponement will be by a month, a month and a half. This deadline is not fatal for me. The important thing is to be ready, to have the real numbers that we will pass on to our European partners, so that we do not end up in the Greek scenario, she said.
Asked for a comment on statements by political leaders tying the “life” of this government to the presidential elections, the Vice President said that she had not heard a single political leader tying them. Currently, Bulgaria has much more important topics and plots and decisions that need to be made, Yotova also said. According to her, it is now important to adopt the budget, to see what the management program of the new cabinet will be, because we are still waiting for it, to see how each ministry and each minister, regardless of which political party they are from, will defend these priorities, to restore the country's financial stability and economic balances, which are definitely disrupted at the moment.
Serious investors are leaving the country, which is an extremely bad sign, said Iliyana Yotova. As for the presidential institution, we will continue, as we have for eight years, to be the stable institution in the country and the guarantor of the country's interests, she also stated.
Regarding the proposal to increase salaries in the Ministry of Interior system, the Vice President said: Let's give the new Minister of Interior some time to see his vision for the entire Ministry of Interior system. What does it mean to deprive some of their salaries and give them to others, she asked. Is there a Bulgarian who does not think that the police officers who protect our security every day should receive higher salaries? It is unlikely that anyone will object, but this is again a piecemeal job, the Vice President believes. In her words, this system should be examined in its entirety, the proposals should be heard, there should be a debate and then it should be seen who receives the funds for what, and the rest is politicking.