site.btaFinance Ministry to Prioritize Army Optimization, Long-Term Investments in Education Next Year

Finance Ministry to Prioritize Army Optimization, Long-Term Investments in Education Next Year

Sofia, August 17 (BTA) - In terms of nominally increased spending, the programmes for army optimization and long-term investments in education will be prioritized next year, Bulgarian Finance Minister Vladislav Goranov told journalists here on Wednesday.

Goranov argued that priority should be set on achieving high-quality education and preventing early school leaving. He regrets the lack of a focus on measures to address the quality of education, against the background of growing expenditures on secondary education.

The Finance Minister sees a pressing need of attracting young teachers to the secondary education system.

Commenting on the results of the banks' stress tests, Goranov said that "people may rest assured about their savings." "The capital performance of Bulgarian banks is twice as good as the average European. All banks passed the test and, in this sense, support by public funds is unnecessary," he pointed out. He specified that the balance of funds is part of the fiscal reserve and will be used to repay maturing debts. The unspent resources will go for debt reduction. "Judging from the numbers, the limit on new public debt for 2017 will be zero," according to Goranov.

A small part of the 36 financially troubled municipalities are ready to propose adequate plans that the Finance Minister could lay before the Government. "The municipalities' claims are disproportionate to the solution they are expected to come up with. The municipalities with problems were identified immediately after the latest elections. They will be watched as to whether they will improve their performance," Goranov added.