20.04.2010

In connection with the allegations that the Convergence Programs of the EU Member States were not considered and approved at the informal ECOFIN meeting in Madrid last week, the press center of the Ministry of Finance would like to point out the following:

In March the European Commission prepared and presented a technical assessment of the Convergence Program, on the basis of which it proposed for approval by the Economic and Financial Committee (EFC) and ECOFIN a draft opinion of the Council on the Program of Bulgaria. The draft opinion was considered and approved by the representatives of the Member States within the EFC and the ECOFIN.

Meanwhile, in the course of the preparation of the interim estimates for the fiscal notifications of our country for 2009 and the interim estimates for 2010, a problem emerged with liabilities of the state, not identified as of the beginning of March, under annexes and supplements to contracts with private companies. As a result, the deficit of our country under the ESA 95 standard was adjusted from 1.9 % of GDP (according to the Convergence Program) to 3.7 % of GDP. In view of the transparency and openness of the communication between Bulgaria, the European Commission and the other Member States, our country immediately informed the representatives of the European Commission and the EFC on the latest developments in the fiscal statistics on deficit and debt, as well as on the anti-crisis measures the Government committed to apply in 2010 in order to accelerate fiscal consolidation and to rapidly reduce the budget deficit to the reference value under the Maastricht criterion. In consequence of the up-to-date information submitted by our country and on proposal by the European Commission, the members of the Economic and Financial Committee approved a revised draft opinion of the Council on the Convergence Program of the Republic of Bulgaria, which placed a stronger emphasis on the risks to the attainment of the fiscal objectives of the program so as the changed situation and the adjusted levels of Bulgaria\'s budget deficit for 2009 and 2010 to be taken into account. This revised draft opinion received political support at the informal ECOFIN meeting in Madrid and, as the press center of the Ministry of Finance announced, the Convergence Program will be finally approved this week. In order to comply with the legal requirements and procedures in the EU and to obtain the status of a legal document, the draft opinion of the Council should be approved without discussion at a formal meeting of the Council, with the existing EU practice being this to be done at the next such meeting regardless of its format. By coincidence, the first formal Council meeting immediately following the informal ECOFIN meeting in Madrid is that of the Justice and Home Affairs Council, the agenda of which includes also an „A\" item (without discussion) - approval of Council opinions on Convergence and Stabilization Programs of Member States, including Bulgaria.