Bulgaria ex-PM to Demand Changes to Funds Allocated to Municipalities

Boyko Borisov, former Bulgarian Prime Minister and leader of center-right party GERB, photo by BGNES

Boyko Borisov, leader of center-right party GERB, has requested a meeting with Prime Minister Oresharski to discuss changes to the distribution of BGN 500 M among municipalities.

He vowed that GERB (Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria) was not looking for a confrontation with the Cabinet but simply changes to the Council of Ministers' decree on the allocations under the government's investment program.

Earlier on Sunday, Finance Minister Petar Chobanov, as cited by the Bulgarian National Radio (BNR), rejected accusations of unfair distribution of the resources and attributed GERB's response to the fact that they were no longer in charge of the process and Borisov could not brag about figures.

On Thursday, Borisov invited Chobanov to a meeting with mayors nominated by GERB, who wished to expressed their dissatisfaction with the distribution of the funding under the Growth and Sustainable Development of Regions program.

On Saturday, a number of mayors nominated by GERB issued a declaration expressing indignation at the approach used to distribute the resources and demanding a meeting with the Prime Minister.

In his Sunday statement, Borisov, as cited by dnevnik.bg, vowed to try to arrange a meeting with Oresharski to discuss the matter.

Borisov went on to accuse the current government of lack of expertise, stressing that it was a party-dominated Cabinet of the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) and liberal party Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS).

GERB's leader underscored that the meeting with Oresharski would focus solely on the criteria for selecting the projects which had been awarded funding.

He warned that GERB would refer the matter to the National Audit Office, the European Commission unless the Council of Ministers' decree was amended, adding that he would not prevent any mayor from appealing the decree.

Borisov recommended that the government hold meetings with the National Association of Municipalities in the Republic of Bulgaria (NAMRB), adding that 80% of tax receipts and GDP was generated by the people living in big cities.

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