site.btaTISP Achieve "Complete Understanding", "Substantial Similarity" with Democratic Bulgaria, Rise Up BG!, BSP for Bulgaria

August 4 (BTA) - There Is Such a People (TISP) achieved
complete understanding and substantial similarity on a number of
 sectors in their talks with Democratic Bulgaria, Rise Up BG!
Here We Come! and BSP for Bulgaria. This transpired from a
declaration of the TISP Parliamentary Group that its Deputy
Floor Leader Filip Stanev read, addressing a plenary sitting of
Bulgaria's Parliament on Wednesday.

Stanev said that his Parliamentary Group and the cabinet they
propose expect support in the sectors on which consultations had
 been held: justice, economy, finance, healthcare, social
policy, education and agriculture.

"We concurred entirely on both the objectives set and on the
ways of attaining them," the Deputy Floor Leader said.

Justice

The four parliamentary groups were fully agreed on an abolition
of the specialized courts and prosecution offices, an
introduction of a working mechanism for the pre-term dismissal
of the prosecutor general, a genuine judicial reform through
structural changes in the Supreme Judicial Council, a reform in
the prosecution service, and real e-justice.

Economy

The four parliamentary groups unanimously prioritize amending
the Commerce Act so as to provide legal support to the various
stages in financing start-ups, tax incentives for small and
medium-sized start-ups, removing barriers to making business and
 providing an integrated digital environment for one-stop-shop
services to individuals and businesses, regional
decentralization, setting up regional economic zones and
reducing market fragmentation by promoting competitiveness.
There are also plans to support entrepreneurship and build an
export-oriented economy and a detailed mapping of local
resources. A strategy will be drafted for the harmonious
development and mobile connectivity of catching-up regions.
Highly skilled professionals will be recruited abroad to meet
the needs of the Bulgarian economy. Other priorities include
cutting the budget deficit so as to achieve a balanced budget by
 the end of the four-year term in office and setting up a plan
for SMEs capital backing, introduction of programmatic budgeting
 based on a cost-benefit analysis, and improving the
transparency, accountability and traceability of public funds.
The portion of the profit reinvested in productive assets will
be exempt from corporate tax. The mandatory VAT registration
threshold will be raised from 50,000 leva now to 165,000 leva
and a VAT reverse charge system will be introduced for fruit and
 vegetable growing and organic farming. Fiscal decentralization
will be achieved by transferring part of the receipts of
corporate tax and personal income tax from the central
government budget to municipalities. The tax on deposit interest
 income and on insurance payments will be scrapped. Budget
expenditures will be decreased back to a maximum of 36-38 per
cent of GDP.

Healthcare

TISP propose a reform of the healthcare model through the
adoption of a new Medical-Treatment Facilities Act and Health
Insurance Act. Electronic healthcare will be established. The
clinical pathways system will be replaced by diagnostic-related
groups, non-hospital care will be transformed into an effective
system, and a countrywide system for the prevention of socially
significant diseases will be set up. The rules of operation of
the National Health Insurance Fund will be urgently revised. A
national effective system for the provision of emergency medical
 services, including air ambulances, will be put in place. TISP
envisage urgent measures to tackle a possible fourth COVID-19
wave.

Social Policy

The main priorities include introducing an income tax threshold
for all wage earners and tax incentives for children, support
for young married couples with up to three children with working
 parents covered by social security and parents studying at
university. Pensions will be recalculated, and senior citizens
will be guaranteed a minimum standard of living and social
support. The Second Pillar pension fund will be managed
transparently so as to increase the return on assets and
gradually increase the percentage of supplementary retirement
insurance. People with disabilities will get social support
based on their needs.

Education

The minority communities will be effectively integrated into the
 education system, with scholarships provided for students of
the minorities. Kindergartens will be built. The Higher
Education Act will be amended to cut the number of higher
schools. Educational institutions will form research clusters
for academic exchanges.

Agriculture

Conditions for practising family farming will be created so as
to shape and sustain a middle class of agricultural producers.

* * *

Replying to a reporter's question in Parliament's lobby, TISP's prime minister designate Plamen Nikolov said on Wednesday that his parliamentary group may be back to President Rumen Radev even before the Friday deadline with a cabinet-forming mandate fulfilled. Earlier, Nikolov said that Democratic Bulgaria and Rise Up BG! were TISP's "preferred partners", but they were seeking support everywhere.

Asked whether he was concerned that the two coalitions had not yet said whether they would support the cabinet proposed by TISP, the PM designate said: "measuring twice is better than cutting once".

In a related development, the leaderships of the Democratic Bulgaria and of the Rise Up BG! parliamentary groups held talks at which they discussed what their floor leaders Hristo Ivanov and Maya Mayanolova agreed was "a very tricky situation".

Ivanov said that the two had also talked about TISP's declaration and the support they had requested for specific priorities. Earlier, Ivanov said that they had not come to any terms at the meeting with Rise Up BG! Manolova was also terse, saying that the meeting with Democratic Bulgaria did not produce any news. RI/LG
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