site.btaGERB-UDF to Alert EU Institutions about Government Pressure on Audit Office

GERB-UDF will alert competent EU and international institutions and organizations regarding government pressure on the National Audit Office. "We will refer the matter to the competent European and national institutions regarding possible political pressure from the executive branch and an attempt to use the National Audit Office for political purposes," GERB-UDF MP Temenuzhka Petkova said, reading out a declaration on behalf of GERB-UDF from the parliamentary rostrum. Notifications will be sent to Eurostat, the European Commission, the European Court of Auditors, the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI), the Fiscal Council, the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB), and the National Statistical Institute.

Petkova recalled that in early July, Parliament tasked the National Audit Office with conducting an extraordinary compliance audit of the financial management of the Road Infrastructure Agency (RIA) for the period from January 1, 2020, to May 30, 2026. The deadline for completing the audit was September 30, 2026, she said.

"Even during the discussion of the draft decision and its supporting arguments, the goal of the audit became clear: the ruling majority was seeking justifications for the scandalous 2026 budget, which features a record deficit of 5.7% of the country's GDP," the MP stated. According to her, a careful reading of the rationale behind Parliament's decision reveals that "instead of defining the scope of the inspection, the ruling majority in the National Assembly explicitly instructs the auditors on the findings and conclusions they must reach." She added that this constitutes a gross violation of the principles of audit independence and objectivity. Petkova explained that GERB-UDF supported the decision because they had no concerns regarding the audit period.

"During the extraordinary audit of the RIA, we received alarming information regarding unlawful and systemic interference by the executive branch in the entity being audited," Petkova claimed. According to her, this was corroborated by information presented during parliamentary oversight proceedings on September 4. "On September 8, we publicly announced that we possess data indicating that, following verbal instructions from the Ministry of Finance, RIA officials were drafting documents to reclassify expenses, shifting costs for activities originally planned for 2026 into the already closed 2025 budget. The aim was to reduce the projected 2026 deficit from 5.7% while correspondingly increasing the deficit for the 2025 fiscal year," Petkova stated. She noted that this directly contradicted data previously validated and officially reported by the Ministry of Finance, the National Statistical Institute, and Eurostat.

Petkova further mentioned that Regional Development Minister Ivan Shishkov had informed MPs that he had received a report from the National Audit Office detailing the results of the RIA audit conducted pursuant to a National Assembly resolution. However, she stated that GERB-UDF had formally requested the report from the National Audit Office and the Regional Development and Public Works Ministry. "On September 10, 2026, the truth came to light. In response to our request, we received a letter from the National Audit Office stating that no such final audit report exists," Petkova declared. She explained that this position of the audit authority was made public a day later.

The GERB-UDF MP asked who had provided Minister Shishkov with the non-existent National Audit Office report, which supposedly reflected the results of the unfinished RIA inspection. "What we are witnessing, colleagues, is a dangerous precedent," the MP stated. She believes that reputational damage is also being inflicted on the country. "This poses a risk to the country's financial stability."