Member of the Governing Council of the BNB Lyubomir Karimanski stated on “Your Day” on NOVA NEWS that he does not expect a change in the fixed exchange rate of the lev upon the introduction of the euro and the topic is rather closed in society.
“The euro doesn't even bother me that much anymore. It is much more important whether our economy will be competitive in the coming years”, Karimanski emphasized.
👉 According to him, a far more worrying signal is the lack of published preliminary data on the implementation of the consolidated fiscal program for May by the Ministry of Finance.
“This practice was disciplined enough — to publish preliminary data for the previous one every month. When this does not happen, there is a problem in the fiscal system, most likely with the expenditures”, he explained.
Karimanski emphasized the risk of violating the expenditure ceilings, which Bulgaria has undertaken to comply with in the coming years in the four-year fiscal framework presented to the European Commission.
► Concerns that Karimanski expressed:
- If a political decision leads to an increase in the expenditure ceilings, this will shake financial discipline;
- There is no clarity on what policies the government plans on both the revenue and expenditure sides;
- The lack of specific measures casts doubt on the ability to meet the medium-term objectives.
“In addition to the two reports, the convergence one and the one of the European Central Bank and the European Commission, the so-called European Semester report was also released. It is very clearly stated there that the net growth of expenditures in the country is growing in a way that was not planned by the government. That is, if we planned for 2025 the growth of net expenditures to be 6.2%, they are currently around 8-8.2%, and the commission expects it to be 9.2% by the end of the year. This only means that the government's deficit will probably not be that”, explained Karimanski.
► After the adoption of the euro, there will be shocks in our incomes if we do not take measures for the structure of the economy, he claims.