"We Continue the Change" at Consultations with President: We Must Ensure that Incomes, Especially Those of the Most Vulnerable Groups, Grow Faster than Inflation

President Iliana Iotova has received representatives of the parliamentary group “We Continue the Change” at the Presidency on Dondukov 2 on May 5, as part of consultations with parliamentary forces ahead of handing over the first mandate to seek to form a government.

“Elections are over, and the more difficult phase begins — for all of you, and for all of us, to respond to the high expectations of Bulgarian citizens.

We have held several consultations with your colleagues, and now we would like to hear from you as well — what are your intentions and ideas regarding the most urgent tasks facing the National Assembly?

The budget cannot wait. I do not recall many periods in which Bulgaria has operated simultaneously with two extended budgets. It was very difficult for the caretaker government, and I have also noted in previous consultations that, under these challenging conditions, they left behind a relatively sound legacy.

From here on, your work begins. How do you envisage this six-month budget period?” she said.

A former finance minister, Asen Vasilev, said the elections had delivered a clear signal from citizens following the protests in December about what the first actions of government should be.

“I hope this has been correctly interpreted, including by ‘Progressive Bulgaria’, which has been given the mandate. The first clear mandate is that the governance model imposed by Borissov and Peevski must end.

In our view, this requires removing their preferential protection so that they are not treated as more equal than other MPs. We have submitted a bill proposing that, similarly to lifting parliamentary immunity, anyone who wants security protection should have a parliamentary commission come to the National Assembly, present the justification, and Parliament should decide.

The second important proposal we have submitted is a moratorium preventing the current Supreme Judicial Council from appointing heads of courts. After the elections, the Council has suddenly become active again, and 26 procedures for appointing court presidents have been opened in an attempt to complete them before it is replaced. We believe this is improper,” he said.

On the state budget, Asen Vasilev commented:

“The other major task is the management of public finances and the budget. In 2023, we were in a similar situation. I was Minister of Finance at the time. I inherited a draft budget from the then caretaker government, which had been prepared without any reforms and showed a deficit of 6.4%.

If you recall, within about 30 days we managed to introduce a number of reforms related to revenue collection, the final part of an anti-crisis package, and a fairly large capital investment programme, which was largely implemented during 2023. We finished the year with a 2% deficit.

The escalation of the war in Iran is beginning to create inflationary pressure. The best protection is to ensure that incomes, especially for the most vulnerable groups, grow faster than inflation. This is achievable if leakages in the system are stopped, as we did in 2023.”

He called for a thorough review of remuneration in the public administration.

Nikolay Denkov added:

“The other expectation, which was created and to a large extent contributed to the election of ‘Progressive Bulgaria’ with such a strong majority, is related to justice. It is not enough to simply elect a new Supreme Judicial Council. It is not enough to have an Anti-Corruption Commission.

What matters is how we fill these institutions with people who not only have expertise and professional experience, but also the moral integrity and independence to perform their duties without succumbing to political, criminal, economic or other external influence.

Another extremely important issue in the coming weeks is how the procedures for electing new members of the Supreme Judicial Council, its Inspectorate, and — I hope — a new Anti-Corruption Commission will be prepared.

Beyond being a condition for receiving part of the remaining funds under the Recovery and Resilience Plan, the Anti-Corruption Commission is essential as a functioning body, so that criminals and organised crime figures finally have something to fear in this country, because at the moment it appears they fear nothing.”