PM: Bulgaria has sound fiscal policy, lowers inflation and raises incomes

Bulgaria has a sound fiscal policy, lowering inflation and raising incomes, Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov explained during question time in Parliament on February 2. The Prime Minister rejected statements made by “There is Such a People” party that the country is pursuing a bad fiscal policy, leading to the accumulation of public debt and impoverishment of the population.

"The national debt is estimated in relation to GDP. Bulgaria is once again one of the best performers not only on the European stage but also globally with a debt-to-GDP of 21.5%. And it has not increased in recent years, so Bulgaria can be proud of the fiscal policy it is pursuing, as it increases incomes, maintains financial stability, meets the criteria that are related to the general macroeconomic parameters. The only thing it has to finish in order to join the euro area is to meet the inflation parameters," Denkov pointed out.

The Prime Minister agreed with the conclusions of GERB-UDF that the mechanism for reducing prices in the small consumer basket by announcing them on the website of the Ministry of Economy does not work, since the large supermarket chains offer goods at significantly lower prices than those announced by the state.

"You have just said that the prices are lower than what is announced on the website. In fact, this is an example that the system works and that even what is announced on the website can lead to further price cuts when competition is sought between chains," Denkov said.

To the accusations made by the Bulgarian Socialist Party that the cabinet did not react to the announced price increase of mobile operators, Denkov explained:

"The government has no right to directly enter into the contracts signed between the relevant economic entities and the people. What we will do and what has already been agreed is that we will talk with the management of these mobile operators to draw their attention to the fact that this is bad economic practice. It creates tension. They themselves are not interested in maintaining it and accordingly - we will talk to the relevant control institutions to be more active in this direction."

Asked by the socialists about what funds Brussels would provide to Kiev, agreed at yesterday's European Council, Denkov explained that it was 50 billion euros, of which 17 billion were direct funds and 33 billion were loans.

The Prime Minister also disagreed with allegations that pressure had been put on the Commission for Protection of Competition (CPC) to allow the deal for the acquirement of parts of Bulsatcom from Vivacom, within an unusually short time for the regulator.

"In no way, shape or form have I ever even tried, let alone to do contracts with independent regulators. CPC is an independent regulator. The only thing - I said yesterday and I will repeat it - is that this regulator has to make a decision that is reasoned and taking into account all the points of view expressed," Denkov said.