site.bta GERB Presents Governance Programme

GERB Presents Governance Programme

Sofia, February 3 (BTA) - In the presence of members of his former second cabinet and former MPs, ex-prime minister Boyko Borissov presented the draft of the governance programme which his GERB party will implement if it wins another term in office after the March 26 early parliamentary elections. Among other things, the programme suggests that all MPs should be deprived of immunity and volunteer military service should be introduced in Bulgaria. Borissov noted that the latter objective does not imply a desire to form a coalition government with the United Patriots.

He said the programme took a week to write, and the aim is to ensure that a future GERB government will be more successful.

The party's priorities in each policy area were presented by members of the former Borissov 2 cabinet (November 2014 - January 2017). Tomislav Donchev, who served as deputy prime minister for EU funds and economic policy, said the formula for a successful government is modernization plus higher growth plus investments.

GERB's programme says that a single anti-corruption authority should be set up around the Criminal Assets Forfeiture Commission, and corruption cases should be handled by the Specialized Court and the Specialized Prosecution Office, former justice minister Ekaterina Zaharieva announced. "This implies in-depth probes into the incomes of senior public officials. If they cannot prove how they earned that money, the assets will be confiscated," Zaharieva explained. GERB also wants to establish a tacit approval rule in order to minimize bureaucracy and to complete the electronic justice system by the end of 2018.

Under another item in the programme, the Prosecutor General and the presidents of the supreme courts should report to the National Assembly on important matters once every three months. A uniform state examination should be introduced for all university faculties of law.

The minimum monthly wage should reach 650 leva by the end of a four-year government term and the average wage should increase to 1,500 leva, while teacher salaries should be doubled, according to GERB.

Former finance minister Vladislav Goranov vowed to keep the flat 10 per cent income tax and to step up the fight against the informal economy if his party returns to power. He expects a positive decision on Bulgaria's planned accession to the "waiting room" for euro adoption and the EU banking union. The completion of motorways will be a financing priority of a future GERB government. Incomes will increase sustainably and GDP can reach 120 billion leva by the end of the four years, Goranov believes.

In order to boost the nation's birth rate, GERB plans to provide intensive support to families with up to three children and smaller incentives for every child above that number.

If the party rises back to power, it will also promote literacy. It will make sure that every child of school age, including those in vulnerable groups, will attend school. Families whose school-age children do not go to school will be denied welfare benefits. Yordanka Fandakova further pledged that schools will not be shut down due to the wrong formula applied at present.

GERB's energy policy priorities include building a Balkan Gas Hub, completing the natural gas interconnectors with neighbouring countries, and promoting energy efficiency, Tomislav Donchev said. The construction of a nuclear power plant at Belene is a possibility, but it must be done with private money, according to GERB.

Other objectives are to demonopolize the National Health Insurance Fund, bring more investments to economic zones, and curb bureaucracy. The administrative burden on businesses and individuals will be shifted onto the administration itself, through legislative amendments.

Speaking at a news conference after the meeting, Boyko Borissov said GERB is getting ready for the possibility of fully majoritarian elections. Whether the possibility will become reality depends on the decision of the court about last November's referendum, the former prime minister said. He noted: "If the court recognizes the referendum as binding, the National Assembly should re-convene to amend the Election Code and get dissolved again in order to have parliamentary elections conducted on the new rules."

Borissov said that voting machines should be manufactured in Bulgaria because they will be used often and renting them from abroad would be a huge waste of money.

He remarked: "What they are doing right now is take sides in the election campaign. They are trying to blame us for those heinous thefts. We see aggressiveness against us every day."

Donchev said the presidential veto of the Concessions Act was a mistake because this new law transposes EU law provisions into national legislation and is better than the old one. "It is also closer to the market," Donchev added.