The current governments are moving us away from the eurozone, this and the previous ones. Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev and Finance Minister Lyudmila Petkova spoke hurriedly. We are moving 2-3 years away from the Eurozone, predicted the former Finance Minister Simeon Dyankov in an interview from Washington to BNR.
"Today we received unexpected data on the rise of inflation - 2%, bearing in mind that European countries are at 0 and this takes us away. The more important thing is that the topic that should be discussed is not being discussed - it is the budget for 2025, Dyankov pointed out.
According to him, there is a big difference between revenues and expenses in the draft budget, "but we will not enter the eurozone on the issue of deficit either.
On raising taxes to reach a 3% deficit, he commented:
"Increasing the insurance by 3%, it has not happened for 20 years in Bulgaria, but it is necessary. It has to change because Bulgaria has a chronic deficit, but I don't see which party will say "yes". It is correct to refund the 20% VAT rate to restaurateurs and bakers. This return will be 400 million. BGN annually in the budget, and we need another 6.8 billion. leva, to reach a 3% deficit."
According to him, there is nowhere to find this money and "it will be necessary for the Minister of Finance to freeze some of the planned increases in the Ministry of the Interior, so these measures are unlikely to pass in the National Assembly.
"I guess that because of the blockage in the National Assembly, no one will want to appear as a conservative financier, they will not solve these things next year and the deficit will go to 5 – 6%, which will delay our entry into the Eurozone by 2-3 years, predicted the former finance minister.
He believes that Bulgaria is heading for elections again: "We are reaching a stage where the entire political system must be shaken. Trump did it here – in the USA and in Bulgaria a new political leader is needed to shake up the system".
"I proposed an option for a minority government, because I do not believe that the two big parties GERB and PP-DB will get along, as we see at the moment," argued Dyankov.
According to him, from so many elections, no new political leader can emerge to shake up the status quo:
"Now the parties are in a deadlock, as they have not managed so far, "why should we vote for these leaders and parties."
What are the reasons that GERB and PP-DB do not understand each other, the former finance minister commented as follows:
"They have a completely different vision of where the country and society should go. I understand them from both sides – GERB and PP-DB, I talk to the political leaders from time to time. I understand PP-DB why they don't want to be in a coalition with GERB, but I also understand Boyko Borisov, they win consecutive elections and want to form a government, but they can't. Now is the time for other political actors and leaders on the scene to break this failed status quo.