site.btaPrime Minister Radev Warns of Possible Sanctions under Excessive Deficit Procedure

Prime Minister Rumen Radev said on Friday that the European Commission would publish a report on June 3, launching an excessive deficit procedure against Bulgaria.

Opening a government meeting, Radev said the European Commission's decision to launch the procedure would lead to regular monitoring, restrictive measures and possible sanctions.

“According to calculations and actual data submitted to the European Commission, last year's deficit was well above 3%, despite attempts to conceal it to achieve the goal of joining the euro area. This year, the deficit will be even larger,” Radev said.

He described the situation as a “difficult legacy” resulting from “negligence, incompetence, voluntarism, populism and financial misconduct ”.

According to the Prime Minister, financial manipulations had been carried out, state-owned companies had been decapitalized and liquidity had been withdrawn from businesses through advance tax collection. He also said public spending had been increased through public procurement contracts awarded at inflated prices.

“Now comes the time for difficult questions, and the European Commission will ask why some people lied. However difficult it may be, we will seek accountability for theft and plunder,” Radev said.

He added that the government would do everything possible to return the budget to “normal parameters” in the coming years, although he acknowledged that the task would not be easy. He said the Finance Ministry would present a detailed briefing on the issue next week.