site.btaInterim Government Reports on First Month in Office

Interim Government Reports on First Month in Office

Sofia, March 1 (BTA) - Looking back at the first month of his caretaker government on Wednesday, Prime Minister Ognian Gerdjikov said the state has been performing very well financially, making it possible to plan Easter supplements to pensions of up to 314 leva per month. Forty-leva supplements will be provided to more than 1,250,000 pensioners, Gerdjikov told a news briefing which also involved other cabinet members.

He said his government has taken action to relieve the administrative and financial burden on businesses. The corporate income tax may be low but there are other encumbrances. The cabinet has prepared a decision to put a limit on business registration charges which are like hidden taxes, violating two EU directives. Other similar decisions are also being drafted but the process is still at an early stage.

Stefan Yanev, Deputy Prime Minister for Internal Order and Security and Minister of Defence, said the planning of the March 26 early parliamentary elections is going according to plan without any major difficulties. The constitutional right of the people to vote under equal conditions will be exercised by using the familiar ballot papers. A company engaged in preparing the election papers has lodged a complaint and the Supreme Administrative Court is expected to pass judgment later on Wednesday, Yanev added.

Deniza Slateva, Deputy Prime Minister for the Preparation of the 2018 Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the EU, said that important actions have been taken in planning the Bulgarian EU Presidency. Past steps have been analyzed and an updated plan has been adopted by the Council of Ministers. The aim is to make up for the delay in some areas, particularly in the area of security. Reports on the preparations will be published every month, Slateva said.

Health Minister Ilko Semerdjiev said the healthcare sector already has a national framework agreement. Average monthly expenses for in-patient care now stand at 133.2 million leva. There is an expense control mechanism and a new method for medical service pricing. Patients will receive documents showing the expenses made for their treatment, Semerdjiev said. Patient referral ceilings and waiting lists will be abolished. The budget for out-patient care has been increased by 13 million leva and for specialist out-patient care by 14 million leva.

The new Health Ministry leadership inherited 509 million leva in debts owed by hospitals. State-run hospitals owed 417 million leva (including 150 million leva in overdue liabilities) and municipal-run hospitals owed 150 million leva (including 42 million leva in overdue liabilities).

Energy Minister Anton Pavlov said the reserves of the electricity system have been replenished and electricity export has been restarted. Natural gas supply to Bulgaria is proceeding normally in accordance with clients' requests and the gas companies are stable financially. Overdue payments have been collected from thermal power plants and concessionaires. The monetary flows of state-owned energy companies are being streamlined and the result is expected to be very good, Pavlov said. All unused amounts of electricity are being provided on the energy exchange.

Sofia is working on the Gas Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria. The future pipeline will carry 1 billion cubic metres of natural gas from Azerbaijan annually under an existing agreement, Pavlov said. The plan is that construction will start at the beginning of 2018 and gas supply via the interconnector will start in 2020. The interconnector with Serbia is also of key importance and Bulgaria intends to speed up the project, he said.

Pavlov admitted that to probe public procurement procedures at state-owned energy companies is a difficult task, but wherever irregularities are detected, measures will be taken. Some information about the financial reports of these companies will become available in the middle of March and the reports themselves will probably be unveiled between March 20 and 25, he said.