site.btaProgramme Declaration Signed by Partners in Future Cabinet Envisages Quick Adoption of Updated 2014 National Budget

Programme Declaration Signed by Partners in Future Cabinet Envisages Quick Adoption of Updated 2014 National Budget


Sofia, November 6 (BTA) - The quick adoption of the updated
national budget for 2014 and the elaboration and adoption of the
2015 National Budget Act are among the tasks listed in the
programme declaration on the key priorities for forming a stable
parliamentary majority in the 43rd National Assembly and a
pro-European reformist government. The document was signed by
the partners in Bulgaria's future governance: GERB, the
Reformist Bloc, ABV and the Patriotic Front.

The programme for Bulgaria's stable development in the 2014-2018
period - the basis for a European reformist government -
contains the most important tasks in all public fields.

In the energy sector, the partners in governance will adopt a
political decision for support of and participation in the
creation of a European Energy Union. A Ministry of Energy will
be established. Another priority in this sphere is the election
of new members of the State Energy and Water Regulatory
Commission. The programme declaration also envisages
preservation of the capacity for nuclear energy development, as
well as further construction of the South Stream gas pipeline
only in full conformity with EU law, dialogue with the European
Commission and confirmed economic benefits.

The priorities in the public finance sector include taxation of
operations on the capital markets, preservation of the tax
system and a low share of redistribution of the budget resources
by the State - up to 39 per cent of GDP.

The programme declaration proposes a gradual increase of the
resources for education (nominally and as a percentage of GDP),
interconnection between the subsidy for education and the
quality of education, new legislation and reforms in the system
of secondary and higher education.

The key priorities in the field of social policy include
continuation of the pension reform and search for options for an
additional increase of pensions, and guarantee of levels of
social aid that are adequate to the economic situation.

The document also lists as priorities: the finalization of the
Hemus, Maritsa and Strouma motorways; the construction of a
tunnel under the Shipka mountain pass; the overcoming of the
chronic economic lagging of Southwestern Bulgaria, the Rhodopes,
Strandzha and the other border mountainous and
semi-mountainous regions that are underdeveloped; the
elaboration of a strategy for the Bulgarian village.

New legislation for all security services is planned in the
field of security and public order. The return of the Chief
Directorate for Combatting Organized Crime as part of the
Ministry of Interior has a special place in the programme, as
well as restoring competition for career promotion and
appointment to senior positions in the security system.
Attention has been paid to the political efforts for Bulgaria's
acceptance in the Schengen area.

The adoption of a long-term strategy for reform of the judicial
system is a prime task. Consensus will be sought for a change of
the constitutional model of judicial power, providing for the
establishment of a Supreme Judicial Council and a Supreme
Prosecutorial Council.

The partners in governance propose the establishment of a fund
for support of victims of disasters and accidents. The tasks
also include expansion of the participation of armed forces in
the integrated crisis reaction system. The number of servicemen
in the Bulgarian army will be preserved. The gradual termination
of all dependencies of Bulgarian defence capacity will be a
priority.

The field of foreign policy features increasing Bulgaria's EU
and NATO integration, preserving foreign political orientation
and the international commitments undertaken on the basis of
Bulgaria's national interests. Special attention is paid to the
Bulgarians abroad, as well as to preparing the country for
taking over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union
in the second half of 2018.