site.btaPrime Minister Borissov: Judicial System, Grey Economy Are Main Problems for Bulgarian Business

Prime Minister Borissov: Judicial System, Grey Economy Are Main Problems for Bulgarian Business

Sofia, March 29 (BTA) - Prime Minister Boyko Borissov Sunday
said that the main problems the Bulgarian business is facing are
 the judicial system - particularly the slow resolution of cases
 - and the grey economy. He was speaking at a meeting of his
party's business formation, Entrepreneurs GERB. Borissov also
said that at present the MPs are acting in a populist manner and
 are about to make a mess of the banking system yet again.

"Imagine what would have happened if we had not tabled the
special bill on Corporate Commercial Bank [Corpbank]. There are
trustees [in bankruptcy at the failed bank] but there is no
court judgement [in Corpbank's bankruptcy proceedings]," he
said, referring to a controversial deal between Corpbank
majority owner Tsvetan Vassilev and LIC33, a group of companies
pooling European Union investors specialized in emerging markets
 and distressed situations. LIC33 has purchased from Vassilev 43
 per cent in Bulgarian Telecommunications Company (BTC, trade
name: Vivacom), 100 per cent in NURTS (a major provider of TV
and radio broadcasting services), and 91 per cent each in
Dunarit (an ammunition and explosives manufacturer), Avionams (a
 military jet and helicopter repair and maintenance provider),
GARB (an audience research company) and First Digital (a digital
 terrestrial multiplex operator), against 1 euro, in return of
pledges to cover outstanding obligations worth about 900 million
 euro.

The grey economy is the other main problem for the business,
because it generates corruption and is killing the Bulgarian
production, Borissov said. In his words, there is a budget
surplus of 145 million leva as at March, which has not happened
since 2008. He added that there are over 830 million leva more
revenues collected by the State, and expressed the hope that
their amount will exceed 1.2 billion leva towards the end of
2015.

"There isn't a sphere where we are not working in this
direction. I am following the work of tax and customs officers,
policemen, prosecutors and others on various topics: sugar,
meat, cigarettes, oil. Huge amounts of money have started coming
 into the light in every single sphere," Borissov said. "Until
we exceed the 1.2 billion leva, I will not stop checking every
Wednesday [when the Government holds its regular meeting] what
they are doing and will do," he added. He also committed to
reducing the budget deficit to 2.8 per cent, collecting more
revenues and protecting Bulgarian production.
     
The PM called on the participants in the meeting to not be
misled by the example of Romania, referring to this country's
success in the fight against corruption. In his words, Bulgaria
has tried what is now happening in its northern neighbour at
least three times: ministers have been arrested, even prime
ministers - Stefan Sofiyanski - but afterwards they turned out
to be innocent. "We should be looking at what is [happening] in
Germany, in the Netherlands, in the countries with a long
history of democracy, where the rule of law is peremptory,"
Borissov said. He noted that Bulgaria now needs tranquility.
   
"South Stream [gas pipeline project] was going to be implemented
 but it had the bad luck of ending up in the hands of the Plamen
 Oresharski government, of these gluttons who decided to trick
in a brutal way both the Russians and the Europeans, but neither
 the former nor the latter are easy to fool," Borissov said.
 
National Assembly Tsetska Tsacheva and GERB Deputy Chairman
Tsvetan Tsvetanov also addressed the forum.
    
Sofia Mayor and GERB member Yordanka Fandakova said that
Bulgaria's capital ranks 30th out of 300 cities in the world for
 fast economic development in 2014. This is a result of the
joint work of the Government, the municipality and the business
community, Fandakova said. "Our policy is focused on investments
 in infrastructure, education and the improvement of
administrative services," she told the forum.