Bulgaria to Reassess Budget in June

Bulgaria PM Borisov has reacted to the earlier presentation of President Parvanov, saying that he will observe most of the recommendations made. Photo by BGNES

Bulgarian Prime Minister spoke to the media on Friday, after attending President Parvanov's address "Bulgaria - what direction to take after the crisis".

He began by thanking the President for what he had said in his speech, and pledged to comply with the majority of the recommendations.

Borisov then gave his reaction to what the President had said about a future consensual national project leading to a restructuring of the political spectrum to extricate Bulgaria from the economic crisis.

"Everyone can express their views during a discussion. I know that, thanks to us, there is now political stability," he stated.

Commenting on Parvanov's remarks that it might be best to aim for a deficit budget of 1,5% - 2%, rather than the 0,7% targeted by the government for 2010, Borisov said that, it was possible there could be a deficit of up to 1%

The Prime Minister said he had spoken with the President on his views concerning the deficit. He pointed out that he reported daily to the President on the financial situation of the country.

"Every day we observe financial and economic stability. I said I would bring in another economist [Ilian Mihov] to help, and he is already helping as my advisor in this direction," he explained.

He added that the budget would be reviewed in June by Parliament. "Until then, I expect negotiations to continue and to obtain approval for entry into the euro zone," he stated.

"We are now also planning more carefully, because the previous government had signed contracts for which no money was allocated. We have to honor those contracts, because otherwise the companies will sue the state, and the state will have to pay a greater interest than those sums to the bank," he explained.

He criticized his predecessor, Sergey Stanishev, saying that he had boasted of high growth in foreign investments during the previous cabinet.

"Where are they? In the construction sector. But only in Sofia and the Black Sea. The rest are in the sphere of services like mobile operators, and they go to foreign companies," said Borisov.

"If they had taken the advice of the experts, the state would not now have to live on bread and water, as it was left to us by the previous government," he added.

Asked about developments in Bulgaria's EU complaint regarding the Greek farmers' protests and their effect on the country, Borisov explained that they had launched proceedings in Luxembourg to claim compensation from Greece. He declined to specify the size of the claim, saying that the amount was increasing as the blockade continued.

The Bulgarian Premier repeated his praise for the new Bulgarian EC Commissioner, Kristalina Georgieva, saying that "currently, Bulgaria has a candidate for European Commissioner whose level and qualities exceed all other candidates".

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