site.btaPM: We Will Try to Make Fair Budget for Everyone

Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov told journalists on Monday that the state budget has its limitations and the government will try to make it as fair as possible for everyone. He spoke in regard to Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria (CITUB) protest in Sofia. 

Denkov said that recent budgets have "systematically and significantly" increased social spending and that he would call them "investments in people". According to him, a big part of the reasons for these protests are that people are starting to feel that there is someone who is going to listen to them. He said that so far both when protesting and not protesting the funds were insufficient. "In recent years the approach has changed. These investments in people are starting to bear fruit. You see that more people are coming back to Bulgaria. The birth rate is rising. That is something to note. The reason is that people are starting to feel more confident about their future," Denkov said. 

CITUB's protest initiative is under the slogan "For higher wages with Budget 2024 and a clear and secure energy future for Bulgaria", the union's press centre said. 

"It is normal to have protests. We hear everyone. I keep getting letters and we keep having meetings with different communities," Denkov said. 

Asked how he would comment on the declared intention of There Is Such a People (TISP) to block the work of the parliament so that the legislative body could not finally adopt the amendments to the Constitution, Denkov said he had no doubt that they are following political agenda. According to him, they have been mobilized to impede as much as possible, and they cannot do anything but impede at the moment. "We need these changes, they are agreed with the most expert institutions at expert level, the Venice Commission, the European Commission. They are also part of the European Commission's recommendations on the rule of law. All their arguments are completely made up. I hope that this resistance will be overcome as quickly as possible," Denkov noted.