29.05.2013

"As of the moment I am acquainted with the budget state in regard of certain basic trends - in the first three months of the year the deficit is quite high; a great volume of debt has also been issued. Besides, the options for flexibility in respect of the budget expenditure and the additionally arising such have been exhausted", Minister of Finance Petar Chobanov stated in the "Oshte ot Denya" programme of BNT. He added that in April, a traditionally good month for the budget, there was certain improvement of the deficit, but the risks still remained and they depended both on revenue collection and on the concrete developments of the economic situation. "Great challenges are facing us which we have to solve wisely. Our actions should be driven by the need to maintain the stability but also by the need to take account of the people's problems", he noted. "We will do everything possible to find the necessary resources so that the first grade pupils receive support for the first school day", the Minister pointed out. 

To a question whether changes to the budget would be necessary the Minister replied that it might be necessary though some compensation mechanisms in the budget itself could be sought, as well as within the budgets of the line ministries. Minister Chobanov is convinced that reserves can always be sought towards expenditure optimization and one such possibility is to optimize public procurement. He expressed his view that a very careful analysis of the situation was necessary; that risks had to be assessed and the possibilities to create additional buffers discussed. According to Chobanov at the moment there is likelihood for revenue underperformance and that makes the adjustment of the budget to the new situation difficult. However, ways for solutions will be sought anyway.

Minister Petar Chobanov also commented the recommendations published by the European Commission. For him they are overall in the right direction. Some of them have been repeated for years and serious measures must be taken to address them. "We know the problems and we will seek solutions to solve them", the Finance Minister concluded.