"Bulgaria will not be forced to pay the debts of the indebted countries in the eurozone". This was stated to the Bulgarian National Radio by former Finance Minister Milen Velchev.
The media interlocutor explained: Among the members of the eurozone there are both highly indebted countries and not so highly indebted ones. Bulgaria will be an excellent student among all the others with its debt level, which, however, is not as low as it was about 15 years ago. These are the realities of the modern world - populism manages to prevail in many countries and economies. But Bulgaria will not be forced to pay the debts of these countries, and they will have to explain to their voters why they will have to reduce spending on social care, pensions and healthcare, because they have to pay interest on their debts.
"Pensions are guaranteed by law to grow faster than the average price increase every year", specified the finance minister in the cabinet of Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.
Velchev added: The increase in wages depends on the success of the Bulgarian economy, which I have no doubt about, but I cannot guarantee.
He emphasized that "the currency board regime for 30 years has prohibited the BNB and the authorities in Bulgaria from conducting monetary policy", but Poland, the Czech Republic and Romania have this freedom and therefore comparing us with these countries is not exactly.
"Nevertheless, it is good for them to join the eurozone one day and I hope that this will happen in the foreseeable future," he also said.
In the words of Milen Velchev, since our country has been in a currency board for years, "neither the benefits of our membership in the eurozone will be that great, but the negatives will be zero, because the monetary policy that is being pursued in Frankfurt am Main (where the headquarters of the European Central Bank is) has been valid for Bulgaria for almost 30 years.".
"Our entry into the eurozone creates great opportunities for Bulgarian business, for investors from outside Bulgaria, which will be increasingly present in the conditions of EU membership, competition on the Bulgarian market will also increase and business in our country must continue to improve its competitiveness," he also pointed out.
"Let there not be many "Our expectations of regulators are high," Velchev urged, pointing out that the most important control body in the Bulgarian economy is the market, and competition ensures the smooth existence of the market.
"The Competition Protection Commission should not control prices, but ensure the smooth functioning of competition," the former minister also said.