site.btaGERB-UDF's Sacheva: This Is Only Possible Budget Amid Conflicting Political Demands

This is the only possible budget, Denitsa Sacheva, Deputy Floor Leader of the GERB-UDF parliamentary group, said, adding “this is the reason it contains extremely difficult balances.” Sacheva was speaking to journalists on the sidelines of a national conference for professions and sustainable future.

“The budget will certainly encourage various protests, but it is the result of the support it can gather in parliament,” Sacheva stated, commenting on the readiness of employers to protest.

“This support comes from various political and parliamentary groups that have different views on how to run the country,” she added.

“We have been acquainted with the proposals of the employer organizations in advance, and I think it will be extremely difficult to draw up a new budget,” Sacheva said. According to her, one of the main reasons for the planned budget expenditures is “the automaticity and interrelation between the minimum and average wages”. “We, as a political party, have committed to changing this, and it may happen next year,” she added.

There are many ideas regarding expenditures, Sacheva said. According to her, reducing the number of civil servants will not reduce budget expenditures. Civil servants are protected by law, and such cuts cannot happen overnight, Sacheva pointed out. Costs increase when there is a large number of unemployed people, as well.

She added that some of the vacant positions could be cut, but this should be given careful consideration, since there are government administrations that need staff.

“There is obviously work to be done in terms of spending, but this requires difficult long-term decisions,” Sacheva said.

When asked about Christmas supplements for pensioners this year, Sacheva said that there would be a discussion. “We must first see the estimates of the National Social Security Institute, because they pay the supplements,” she said.

Sacheva also said that she had sent a letter to the Labour and Social Policy Minister Borislav Gutsanov requesting that the Parliamentary Committee on Labor and Social Policy be provided with a legislative solution to permanently resolve this issue as a new type of social assistance that applies not only to pensioners but also to the most vulnerable.

“The meaning of the holidays is to bring people together. The poorest should receive decent support from the state. This issue must cease to be yet another dividing line in society,” Sacheva said.

Last week, Sacheva stated that Christmas supplements for pensioners are not planned this year and that the budget's possibilities in this regard are very limited.