site.btaContinue the Change Chair Vassilev Challenges PM's Statement that Public Purse Is Empty

There are absolutely no problems with the state treasury and it is not empty, representatives of Continue the Change said at a press conference at the Bulgarian News Agency's National Press Club in Shumen on Monday. The event was attended by party Chair Assen Vassilev, Deputy Chair Nikolay Denkov, MP Aylin Pehlivanova and municipal councillor Bogomil Petrov.

Commenting on a statement made earlier in the day by Prime Minister Rumen Radev that there was no money in the treasury, Vassilev said: "Mr Radev and his Government officially announced on May 29, through a statement by the Finance Ministry, that they had received the treasury on April 30 with EUR 6,803,545,000 in it. This is the fiscal reserve. This is not an empty treasury. The mandatory funds amount to around EUR 2.2 billion, which must be maintained - the Silver Fund and so on - meaning that around EUR 4.5 billion remain at the Government's disposal," Vassilev said. "There are absolutely no problems with the treasury and it is not empty," he added.

Vassilev pointed out that when he took office as finance minister in the Petkov cabinet (2021-2022), a budget was prepared within 45 days, while when he served as finance minister in the Denkov cabinet (2023-2024), a budget was drafted within 30 days. "What we are seeing now is one-party rule. There are no coalition partners, there are no political obstacles to drafting the budget, and yet this party has been unable for a second month to sort out its priorities and write a budget. This demonstrates either misguided priorities or a complete lack of competence," Vassilev said.

Denkov noted that more than a month after the Government took office, he had still not heard what its priorities were. "During the campaign, everything was a priority, and everyone in politics knows that when everything is a priority, nothing is a priority. That is precisely why, instead of having a clear plan with established priorities and proper costing so that people know what to expect and why they should expect it, we have this situation," Denkov said.

At the end of the press conference, municipal councillor Bogomil Petrov from the Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria group in Shumen and Denkov commented on local political issues.