site.btaCaretaker Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Ministers Present Report of Work of Outgoing Caretaker Cabinet

Caretaker Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Ministers Present Report of Work of Outgoing Caretaker Cabinet

Sofia, May 2 (BTA) - Caretaker Prime Minister Ognyan Gerdjikov and his deputies, Deniza Slateva and Stefan Yanev, Tuesday presented a report of the work of the caretaker government to the media. Gerdjikov noted that two key tasks of the cabinet were the preparation of the parliamentary elections in Bulgaria and of the Bulgarian EU Presidency due in 2018.

Gerdjikov said that he is compiling a folder for the next prime minister, GERB leader Boyko Borissov, that will contain "good ideas" and requests he was approached with during visits in different regions. "In the short time frame of the term of the caretaker cabinet it is normal to expect that the government could not addressed every problem. This is why I leave all unsolved issues and questions in a folder for Borissov," Gerdjikov said. The caretaker PM said that the folder includes problems of the Bulgarians in Bosilegrad, Serbia. It also has results from "promising" talks started with foreign companies intending to invest in Bulgaria.

Gerdjikov said that "only the extreme party egotism of the Bulgarian Socialist Party was what prevented Slateva from joining the new government". "Proof of the success of her work for preparation of the Bulgarian Presidency of the EU Council is the keen wish of the future prime minister to attract Slateva in the new cabinet," Gerdjikov said.

Slateva for her part reported progress in the work of the preparation of the EU Presidency and catching up with the delays in some of the activities. Slateva said that a plan of the preparation of the presidency has been drawn up and updated. A tentative schedule of events has been prepared, and guidelines for the conduct of the various activities have been approved. A financial plan of the presidency has been adopted. Two public procurement procedures have been opened. The communication strategy has been adopted, which had been delayed. Work on the cultural programme has been started "from zero," the project was finalized and the programme is to be approved by the regular cabinet, Slateva said.

Deputy Prime Minister Yanev said that the elections were very well organized - an opinion which he said was shared by many observers. He noted the work of the Interior Ministry "which organized things perfectly within its powers," as well as the work of the Foreign Ministry which was responsible for the voting arrangements for expatriate Bulgarians. Dwelling on the mechanism for coordination between the Foreign Ministry, the prosecuting magistracy and the State Agency for National Security, Yanev said that the mechanism "worked perfectly, before and during the elections".

Gerdjikov highlighted achievements of the ministries, saying that detailed reports on the performance of each of them will be uploaded on their web sites on Wednesday.

The PM said that as at April 25, the revenue collected by the National Revenue Agency is 5.9 per cent (238.9 million leva) more than the like period a year ago. The proceeds collected by the National Customs Agency are 16.1 per cent (385.7 million leva) higher than the like period in 2016, mostly due to higher VAT revenue.

At the end of the tenure of the caretaker cabinet the budget surplus exceeds 1.6 billion leva, Gerdjikov said in his report. On a cash basis, the Consolidate Fiscal Programme has a surplus. The revenue item of the budget has resources amounting to 785 million leva. "This is proof of a well working economy," Gerdjikov said.

At the start of 2017, compared to the figures for 2016, the number of municipalities with financial hardships decreased to 32, from 36, Gerdjikov said. "The progress is not tangible but is a step in a right direction," he said.

The PM dwelled on the work of the Health Ministry, stressing the signing of a national framework agreement between the Bulgarian Medical Union and the National Health Insurance Fund. "This put an end to the administrative command model in the sector and the dialogue between the partners resumed" he said.

Commenting the work of the Interior Ministry, Gerdjikov stressed the restored link with the members of the public. He said that more than 1.2 million letters with information about how to reach local police inspectors were sent to each building. The number of reported crimes decreased by nearly 12 per cent in the first quarter of 2017. Killings decreased by 23 per cent, robberies, by 16 per cent, thefts, by 22 per cent, and auto thefts, by 30 per cent, Gerdjikov said.

In the energy sector Gerdjikov dwelled on the measures to streamline the financial flows "whose overall financial effect exceeded 120 million leva". Collection of concession royalties increased by 23 per cent. The proceeds from concession royalties in the first quarter of 2017 stood at 27.7 million leva, against projections of 34 million leva for the entire year.

Gerdjikov also noted the work of the interdepartmental commission for preparing Bulgaria's position in the case of the European Commission against Gazprom.

The PM said that the composition of the new cabinet will be voted on the morning of May 4, and the handover of power will take place around noon or the early afternoon on Thursday.

The caretaker government, appointed by newly elected President Rumen Radev, took office on January 27, 2017, after the GERB cabinet led by Boyko Borissov resigned following GERB candidate's defeat at the presidential elections in November 2016.