Budget Procedure to Continue, Draft Will Not Be Withdrawn

The budget procedure will continue and the government’s draft financial plan will not be withdrawn, officials confirmed at a briefing. Representatives of the governing parties, trade unions and employers held talks in an attempt to rebuild dialogue after recent tensions.

“The tripartite dialogue between the government, the trade unions and the employers has been restored. We have heard the proposals of Bulgarian businesses and the trade unions. Over the coming days, these proposals will be reviewed by the Ministry of Finance and by the coalition partners, costed, and next week another meeting will be held to discuss the specific measures put forward by both employers and unions, so that we can find a balanced solution acceptable to all,” Finance Minister Temenuzhka Petkova said following the meeting.

According to her, the budget has not been withdrawn and has already passed its first reading in Parliament. What has been postponed is the budget procedure itself.

“The two small budgets were considered at second reading in committee. The parliamentary rules allow us to submit an additional report once the proposals between the government, employers and trade unions have been clarified. We are ready to submit such a report and to reconsider the two smaller budgets at second reading, after which the state budget will also be examined at second reading in committee. We have enough time — if we can reach agreement on proposals acceptable to all three sides next week, we still have time to adopt the state budget before the end of the year. I am optimistic that we will have a proposal as early as next week,” said Delian Dobrev of GERB–UDF.

Photos by Dessislava Kulelieva, BNT

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