"A month is completely sufficient to prepare an “adequate budget“. This was stated on Nova TV by the chairman of “We Continue the Change“ Assen Vassilev, quoted by novini.bg.
He pointed out that in nine central departments alone, maintenance costs are increasing by 737 million euros.
“This is the money for coffee, water, cars, business trips, current repairs. The easiest solution is for the government to equalize these with last year“, he said. According to him, there is another 1.5 billion euros in the central budget, which can be distributed by decrees of the Council of Ministers, without it being clear in advance what they will be used for.
"There are nearly 1.7 billion euros in the budget, for which it is not clear on what projects they will be spent, and the deficit can be reduced by eliminating unclear buffers," he specified.
The main criticism of the former finance minister was directed at the capital program. He claims that 9.3 billion euros of investments have been set, but in the annex to the budget there are only 3.1 billion euros of specific projects.
“The only possible explanation is the creation of a large buffer in case of a possible delay in funds under the Recovery and Resilience Plan, but this is not a legitimate argument“, Vassilev is categorical.
“If the controversial expenses are eliminated, the budget deficit can be reduced to about 3%, without affecting the remuneration in the public sector. We are giving twice as much money as we have described“, he commented. The only ministry that, according to him, has fully listed its capital expenditures on specific projects is the Ministry of Youth and Sports.
On the topic of pensions, Asen Vassilev rejected the claims that the system is becoming increasingly dependent on the state budget. He pointed out that the share of pensions covered by social security contributions is growing and now reaches about 55%, while 15 years ago it was 42%.
The leader of “Continue the Change” also commented on the upcoming presidential elections. He said that if Andrey Gyurov officially announces his candidacy, his party will support him, but the final decision will be announced when the talks are over.