Minister Koritarova Calls for Stronger Public Control if Municipalities Obtain Financial Autonomy

Dimitrina Solakova

Caretaker Minister of Regional Development and Public Works Violeta Koritarova at the closing conference on the 22BG07 project, Sofia, April 16, 2024 (BTA Photo)

Sofia,

16.04.2024 16:24

(BTA)

The process of Bulgarian municipalities' financial de-centralization is related to important political decisions, institutional reforms, and changes in statutory instruments of secondary legislation, said here on Tuesday the caretaker Minister of Regional Development and Public Works, Violeta Koritarova. Transferring powers, functions, and resources from the central to the local authorities should happen in a way that provides efficiency of public finance, she added.

Koritarova was speaking at the closing conference on the 22BG07 project about the development of fiscal de-centralization and improvement of financial management at the local level in Bulgaria. The project is co-funded by the EU through the Technical Support Instrument, in cooperation with the European Commission. The conference was organized by the National Association of Municipalities in the Republic of Bulgaria (NAMRB).

According to Koritarova, public control over the institutions' actions should be strengthened in relation to resource spending, promotion of sustainable regional development, and stronger local democracy. She assured the NAMRB representatives that she and her Ministry will continue working on the introduction of a better mechanism for cooperation, monitoring, and assessment of the process, so that the next monitoring report in 2025 can reflect progress on the project.

Donka Mihaylova, head of the NAMRB Governing Board and Mayor of Troyan (North Central Bulgaria), said that the NAMRB expects the State, through tax law changes, to provide one-fifth of the income tax on natural persons and one-tenth of the revenue from corporate tax to the local authorities. The NAMRB considers these amounts just.

/RY/