„We Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria“ will not support the draft budget of the Zhelyazkov cabinet, which was made with wrong calculations, MP Asen Vassilev said. He described the plan as scandalous and even worse than that of the caretaker government. According to him, the 3% deficit in the 2025 Budget was achieved with a very high increase in VAT revenues – by 30%, which he considers unrealistic.
Vassilev stated that it is even more scandalous that all social payments will be frozen in the coming years, while the budget for the Ministry of Interior has not been properly addressed. He commented:
„They took the gross salary for the second quarter in the Ministry of Interior, i.e., the salaries with added seniority and overtime, and increased it, instead of using the net salary. The difference is about 25%, and if they had taken the net salary, this money would have been enough for an increase in pensions. These are several hundred million.“
Vassilev stressed that in Brussels, they can read numbers and would immediately ask how VAT expenses are going to be increased. He believes that the proposed 2025 Budget can be corrected between the first and second readings in the National Assembly. To achieve this, expenses would need to be cut by up to BGN 2 billion and the salary calculations in the Ministry of Interior would need to be fixed, stating:
„Maybe it wouldn’t be very popular as a solution, but the salary increase could easily take effect from April 1 instead of January 1, it wouldn’t be nothing either.“
The MP also criticized the excessively high capital expenditures, calling them „just giving money to construction companies“. He gave the example of the highway between Ruse and Veliko Tarnovo, which is still in the design phase, yet BGN 100 million are allocated for it in the budget. According to him, this amount is too large for the design phase, and construction will not take place in 2025. In reality, the design covers only one-third of the highway, with one-third of it already under construction since 2024.
