site.btaGovernment Boasts Good Socio-Economic Results, Successful Vaccine Rollout

Sofia, May 7 (BTA) - At a working meeting with outgoing
Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov on Friday, cabinet
members reported good socio-economic results and a successful
COVID vaccine rollout. Outgoing Health Minister Kostadin Angelov
 said that Bulgaria is doing "extremely well" handling the
health crisis and has the 20th lowest infection rate among the
27 EU Member States on a 14-day basis.

"If we keep up this rate of vaccination, Bulgaria will achieve
herd immunity by the end of June," Angelov said.

Borissov asked the Health Minister to make sure appointment-free
 vaccinations are carried on simultaneously with the vaccination
 of the priority groups. 

The outgoing ministers also heard snap budget statistics for
January-April 2021. The budget ran a 115.4 million leva surplus
for January-April and an estimated surplus of 735 million leva
for April alone, and tax revenues were by 915 million leva more
than last year. "We don't revise the budget. We spend as much of
 the taxpayers' money as we collect," Borissov said.

Outgoing Deputy Prime Minister Tomislav Donchev said that all
EU-funded operational programmes work, which means that the
future governments will be able to invest over 4.5 billion leva
on an annual basis during this programming period. Also, all new
 operational programmes have been prepared and sent to the
European Commission.   

Donchev also said that the National Recovery and Resilience Plan
 was submitted to the European Commission on April 20: not for
official approval, which can only be done if the caretaker
cabinet or the next regular government choose to do so. "Any
future government team can make changes, revise it thoroughly or
 only parts of it. That [leaving it to the next government] is
the best thing to do politically," said Donchev.

Economy Minister Luchezar Borissov said that 2020 saw a 10-year
high of foreign direct investment, a total of 4.2 billion leva.

Unemployment is down to the pre-crisis level of 6.1 per cent,
according to the National Employment Agency.

Commenting on the Government's performance during a speech at
Parliament's plenary sitting later in the day, Socialist leader
Kornelia Ninova said that Borissov was lying and the budget
surplus he reported was "on paper only". RY/LN