site.btaCaretaker Finance Minister Sets Priorities for Election Funding, Budget Extension

Caretaker Minister of Finance Georgi Klisurski said the caretaker government’s three priorities for his ministry were funding the April 19 elections, extending the budget law and ensuring fair distribution of funds earmarked for municipalities, during a handover ceremony at the Ministry of Finance in Sofia on Thursday.

He said the Council of Ministers would adopt the election budget plan next week for the April 19 vote, and the ministry would ensure the funding for the elections.

Klisurski said another priority was submitting a second budget extension law because the current one expires on March 31, which would ensure the normal functioning of the State and all payments after that date as well.

A third priority was unblocking all payments to municipalities under the National Investment Programme, where delays have been recorded, Klisurski said. He added that the budget extension law includes about EUR 460 million, which is available and should reach the municipalities that meet the legal requirements.

We will work professionally, as always, calmly and convincingly in the interests of the citizens of the Republic of Bulgaria,” Klisurski said.

He thanked former finance minister Temenuzhka Petkova for the work done over the past year.

“The most important thing I want to single out, and for which I want to thank and congratulate her and the team, is the successful introduction of the single European currency, the euro. As you can see, both in January and as of Thursday in February, the transition to the euro has been extremely smooth, and that is a wonderful success for Bulgaria and for generations of Bulgarians,” Klisurski said.