The government will change our representative in “Lukoi Bulgaria”, the minimum salary will be increased from January 1, 2024, those of the police officers will not be raised, but at the expense of this, the municipal employees will be increased. Income tax will not be introduced and the flat tax will remain. The cabinet’s efforts will be aimed at reducing the gray sector in the economy. This was said by Prime Minister Academician Nikolay Denkov, who for about an hour answered citizens through the government’s Facebook page.
The occasion for the virtual meeting was one month after the inauguration of the government of Nikolay Denkov and is under the heading “Government speaks openly”. Inconvenient questions about the friction between GERB-SDS and “Continuing the change – Democratic Bulgaria” related to appointments in power, the reform of the judicial system and the fight against corruption at the highest levels of power, however, were almost absent.
Appointments in power
The Prime Minister described the political environment as difficult, but according to him, his ministers got down to work in a few days. “What we’re trying to build is teamwork”said Academician Denkov.
Regarding the saga with the appointment of the regional governors he admitted that there was some tension and it would be a little while longer. The reason is that a consensus must be reached among the deputies who represent the regions.
“There is some delay around the disputes in the National Assembly. The delay is because the consensus must first be reached among the people’s representatives, since they represent the regions”Denkov said.
On the delayed appointments of deputy ministers, he said that “quality candidates” have not yet been proposed for all ministries.
The Prime Minister said that in the regulatory bodies, where the leaderships have expired mandates, people ready to do their jobs should enter. “Their task is to fight corruption, not to put problems on corpses”said Academician Denkov.
New representative of our country in “Lukoil Bulgaria”
Our country will have a new representative in “Lukoil Bulgaria”, the Prime Minister also announced. Currently, on the board of directors of the company, the Bulgarian interests are protected by Krasimir Georgiev, who is the former head of NEK. He was appointed to this position at the time of the first cabinet of GERB, which signed the annex for the construction of the Belene NPP. Periodically, his work is criticized with the argument that it does not protect Bulgarian interests.
“There is a systemic problem there. The representative of Bulgaria does not provide up-to-date information”said Nikolay Denkov.
“Lukoil has been told to pay their taxes before. The question is how to make the changes so that they don’t work with Russian oil.”added the prime minister.
He described an optimistic picture for the diversification of natural gas sources. It became clear from his words that we are not yet ready to open the topic of shale gas extraction.
By 2027, we must prepare for the liberalization of the electricity market for households by adopting mechanisms to help the energy poor, the Prime Minister said. According to him, the definition of energy poverty is already ready, but the mechanism for providing aid for it must be built.
They raise the salaries of the municipal officials, but not the policemen
The salaries of the police officers who protested a few days ago will not be raised this year, but those of the municipal employees will be increased, which are low, and local elections are coming up in the fall, it became clear from the Prime Minister’s answer.
According to him, it is normal for each sector to seek better remuneration. However, Denkov does not think that one should stand under the windows of the Council of Ministers, because this is not the way to seek a fair distribution of the budget.
“Last year, the salaries of employees of the Ministry of the Interior were increased by 20%. An increase is planned in two other places. One is in the systems that did not receive an increase – this year they will catch up by 10%”said the Prime Minister.
Salaries in municipal administrations will be increased by 15%, he specified.
The minimum wage is raised, no progressive tax will be introduced
The minimum wage will be increased from 2024, but no progressive tax will be introduced. The government’s efforts will be aimed at shrinking the gray economy, announced Nikolay Denkov.
“Our entire focus is on shedding light on the gray economy. For example, we have an idea in the budget – if you are not issued a note, you will not pay in the restaurant. Such a measure was implemented in Greece years ago and led to a positive result. Not only the prime minister, but everyone one will get up from the table in that case. As far as I’ve seen, even restaurateurs have embraced this idea.”, Denkov said. He hopes that this proposal of the government will be voted by the parliament.
Another proposal of the cabinet, to limit the gray economy, is that salaries in enterprises with more than 50 employees be paid entirely by bank transfer, said Denkov.
The 2024 Budget included an increase in the minimum wage, the prime minister said without specifying by how much. At the moment it is 780 BGN.
More money for education
When asked whether the money for education will be reduced and why the matriculation results are so weak, Nikolay Denkov, who is a former minister of education in the caretaker governments of Stefan Yanev, explained that only motivating teachers with higher salaries is not enough and work is now underway on the preparation of new curricula and content, as well as a new mechanism for evaluating matriculation exams.
“Until the curricula and textbooks are fixed, extracurricular activities are not strengthened, until the mechanism for attracting children to school is improved, there will be problems, and that is why reforms are important. Salaries are a necessary but not sufficient condition.”Denkov commented.
He hopes that in the next 18 months there will be a change in the curricula and a reduction in factuality in the textbooks.
The war on the roads
When asked about the measures against the war on the roads, Denkov said that the cabinet has identified the most urgent tasks. One of them is joint inspections of cars by 6 institutions.
Another is related to the methods of allocating funds for the repair of roads, with priority being given to repairing those with a high concentration of accidents. There is a map of the road agency that shows 40 problem areas and funds will be allocated to them with priority, said Denkov.
He pointed out that changes have also been made in obtaining the driver’s license, with the emphasis being placed on the practical test.
Tourism
On the occasion of the destroyed dam wall in Kakhovka, Denkov stated that there is an extremely negative campaign coming from outside to ruin the tourist season.
The Black Sea is clean and there should be no doubt about that, said the Prime Minister. He added that every day he receives a report from the Ukrainian, Romanian and Bulgarian authorities.
None of the pollution that had accumulated in the Odesa Bay had gone to Romania, let alone come to Bulgaria, Denkov said. According to him, there is no probability of pollution reaching the Bulgarian water area.
“People should be calm. If there is danger, they will be informed immediately”Denkov assured.
North Macedonia
The topic of North Macedonia, where our country will firmly follow the so-called A European compromise, Denkov said.
According to him, European leaders like Olaf Scholz will be told that they are sending wrong signals to our western neighbor.
“The real elephant in the room is when North Macedonia will change its Constitution”Denkov said.
2023-07-06 08:34:57
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