MEP Accuses Bulgarian Finance Minister of Deceiving EU

Kalfin (right) has accused Finance Minister Djankov (left front) of attempting to deceive the EU. Photo by BGNES

Finance Minister Simeon Djankov has been trying to lie to the EU about Bulgaria’s 2009 budget deficit, according to Socialist MEP Ivaylo Kalfin.

Kalfin, an economist who was the Foreign Minister and the Deputy PM in the Stanishev government (2005-2009), spoke on Nova TV Friday, accusing Djankov of attempting to cover up the real condition of the Bulgarian budget from the European Commission.

“Djankov had been trumpeting for months that he was the best economist in Eastern Europe and will achieve a zero deficit – something that no EU country can achieve. Eventually, he saw this would not happen even though he had the situation explained to him many times. But he is just a very conceited person,” declared Kalfin.

The ex Foreign Minister also said the real budget deficit of Bulgaria for 2009 was precisely 3.9%, and that Eurostat reached this figure by using a methodology that was different from the one desired by Djankov.

“It is totally not serious for a government which had been in power for 10 months, to announce it just found contracts it hadn’t been aware of,” said the Socialist MEP with respect to the claims of the Borisov government that its predecessors secretly made BGN 2 B public procurement contracts with private companies even though they were aware that the state had no money to cover them.

According to PM Borisov and Djankov, it is precisely because of the “hidden” contracts of the previous government that Bulgaria’s 2009 budget deficit doubled from the previously announced 1.9%.

“I am concerned by the fact that the state is starting to look more and more like a police department,” Kalfin commented with respect of the work of Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov. He demanded democratically issued sentences instead of constant police operations.

“I am afraid that if the state allows emergency powers in the hands of a small group of people, whoever those might be, we are going to be paying the price of that decision for a very long time,” stated the MEP.

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