The 2025 state budget was in focus today, February 14, in the sidelines of the Parliament. Martin Dimitrov from "We Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria" (WCC-DB) criticised GERB, stating that "the government is sabotaging its own plan for the euro. There is no budget, there is no plan."
The response from GERB came quickly.
Temenuzhka Petkova, Minister of Finance: "I want to categorically refute the statement by DB that the draft law on the budget is being deliberately delayed. This is absolutely not the case. What we are currently doing and need a few more days for is related to Bulgaria's commitment to prepare a structural fiscal plan to be submitted to the European Commission."
GERB leader Boyko Borissov also commented on the topic.
"DB, as they have nothing to say, they talk nonsense—outright nonsense. They sabotaged the eurozone for 4 years. On Monday, Mrs. Petkova will be in Brussels. The strategic goal of joining the Eurozone requires a lot of preliminary work, which needs to be passed on to WCC-DB. It’s not as they think—it’s not like going to some mall and reaching an agreement. When they were in power, they didn’t have a budget for months, now they expect it to happen in a few days."
Asen Vassilev, former Minister of Finance from WCC-DB, remarked: "Mr. Borissov came out and, like a long-suffering Genevieve, complained again that nothing was done and that he had to do everything. It sounds a little like a student explaining how difficult the homework was and that he struggled all afternoon, but he had actually played a match. Let's get back to where we started. What did GERB do for the eurozone until mid-2021, when Borissov's government fell? Nearly a year after we entered the waiting room, there was no plan for adopting the euro. What GERB did was pass a government decree, which proudly states that by June 30, the next government must develop a draft plan for the euro, with an indicative date for joining the Eurozone in 2024. So, what GERB left was a task to write a plan. The plan was written and implemented, and the only thing left was inflation. Today, the data from the NSI on inflation came out, and despite a significantly higher inflation rate for January compared to last year, we meet the criteria with no countries excluded."
Tsoncho Ganev from "Vazrazhdane" commented: "Bulgaria is facing an attempt of fraud by the government. Today, the head of the National Statistical Institute, Atanas Atanasov, will try to deceive the Bulgarian people by claiming that inflation in Bulgaria is only 3.1%. This is not just a statistical error; it is a deliberate manipulation aimed at forcing us into the Eurozone."
Delian Peevski also commented on the budget, saying: "There’s no love exactly on February 14, they clearly don’t love each other enough."
"Joining the Eurozone should be combined with measures for prices, so there won’t be problems later. If the two things are combined, we are firmly for the euro."
Radoslav Vassilev from (Morality, Unity, Honour) MECh party commented: "We have no information on why the draft budget has not been submitted yet. There is always a danger to the state’s money when GERB rule the state. This is an inherent danger. (Joining) the Eurozone was never an end goal for MECh, and I assume it’s not in the current government’s plans either. For us, right now, both 2025 and 2026 are a mirage in terms of the Eurozone."
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