We discussed the bill on the ceiling of markups more than once or twice. I congratulate my colleagues and Maya Manolova for introducing it to the National Assembly today. This is truly an outrage. A yogurt producer, for example - it costs him one unit, and in the supermarket it costs 4-5-6 units. Bulgarian producers in large chains are also being hit. This was stated by the Minister of Labor and Social Policy Borislav Gutsanov on bTV.
„There will be no reductions in any social spending and let people be infinitely calm. Social payments will be provided for the most vulnerable in our society. There is a decision of the National Assembly on salaries in the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Defense, it must be respected. However, it can be reviewed which people receive a pension and are on a salary at the same time. It is important that there will be no increase in taxes – this is a serious achievement in this difficult situation“, he explained on the occasion of Budget 2025.
About the “hole“ of 18 billion in the budget, the minister emphasized: “Unfortunately, there is such a hole and these are the realities in the budget. Of these, with a 3% deficit, these are 6 billion, the remaining 12 billion remain. There are already serious views on how to take money from the gray sector, because it has proven to be very advanced in recent years due to the official offices. More opportunities for “Customs“ and the National Revenue Agency will also help.“
According to him, there is logic in the arguments for both 9% VAT for restaurateurs and 20%. However, the Council of Ministers will come up with a unified decision.
„The BSP's entry into such a complex government was a big compromise to achieve stability in the country. It was not normal to go to the eighth election in 3 years. The fact that we are doing everything possible in this most complex ministry at the moment - the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs - shows that the BSP is making every effort to achieve stability. We have found a good dialogue with our colleagues from the complex government,“ Gutsanov added.
Regarding the regulators, he pointed out: „Now we are entering a normal regime. I don't think it has been accelerated at the moment. There are regulators that have expired for 3-4 years. Is this normal? It will be difficult to find 160 votes. Let's start this process and where necessary, the Council for Joint Governance will discuss what is permissible and what is not. There are things that cannot happen. From the economy - in no way should the equipment of our nuclear power plant in “Belene“ be sold. This process has not started, thank God. Borisov once said that this is a goal, and then that it is an extremely important object. I think you see other trends in the world - nuclear energy until two years ago was dangerous, and now it is green energy and is the cheapest.“
And he specified that there has been talk with GERB and the other parties in the government about “Belene“. “We believe that now, when the detailed agreement on governing the state is being made, this topic will be discussed in detail. I think that there will be common sense and things will happen. First of all, we look at the interests of Bulgaria.“
Gutsanov is also a candidate for chairman of the BSP. Regarding the upcoming party Congress, he stated: “It is important to hold a serious BSP congress. For me, it was of utmost importance to close the internal party fronts; to have a large united left. The BSP Statute must be respected, that is, every member of the party must vote. What will happen - let's see what the debate will be like. I believe that the Statute must be implemented and there must be a direct election, but the debate will be in the hall. This is undoubtedly the more democratic way, but whether it can be applied in the difficult situation - we will see. We will want to discuss a management program. This is right to come out of Congress. I wish these budgets would stop year after year, so that we can hibernate. Bulgaria needs a perspective for at least 5-10 years ahead.“
He added that he is working with the old deputies from the previous cabinet.
“Dialogue and calm“, he called for at the end.