site.btaPM Denkov: Challenging Times Demand Faith in Future to Build More Successful State

In a video address released by the government press service here on Monday, Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov said that in challenging times everyone needs faith in the future and humility in the face of differences to build a more successful state. Denkov said: "We are better, when we are together."

In his address Denkov said that Christmas is a holiday of love that should be shared with friends and loved ones. He added: "On this holy day we can do more - we can be together and overcome our differences. We can have our own opinions, but we should also discuss what unites us and we should care for each other."

The Prime Minister was optimistic about data that suggested that 60% of Bulgarians expect 2024 to go better that the previous year. He cited data from Eurobarometer, according to which more than 75% of people tend to be optimists.

Denkov said: "At Christmas, when we celebrate the birth of good, let's ask ourselves what is most important to us as a nation. What is the cause that unites us? How can we make life better for all Bulgarians and survive as a nation? Recent budgets have systematically and significantly increased investment in people. We provide social support for families with children and will continue to create conditions for the career development of young parents. Bulgaria has the second highest wage growth in the European Union, and they will continue to grow next year. Our goal is for incomes to outpace inflation by a factor of two. And inflation should be brought under control. We have already managed to bring it down to levels lower than before the war [in Ukraine] and before the energy crises."

The Prime Minister said that the biggest change under development is turning the economy of cheap labour into an economy of high added value. Strategic investors are already being attracted to Bulgaria, as they value the knowledge and skills of Bulgarians and want to involve them in the technologies of the future. "We are already seeing the first results of these efforts - more and more Bulgarians are returning to their homeland, the birth rate is rising, and, for the first time since the beginning of the transition, families are re-entering the two-child model," Denkov said.