site.btaFinance Minister Petkova: Full Accountability for Appointing Former Finance Minister to Lead Public Financial Inspection Agency

Finance Minister Temenuzhka Petkova said on Tuesday that she will be fully accountable for appointing former caretaker finance minister Lyudmila Petkova as the Director of the Public Financial Inspection Agency (PFIA), speaking on the sidelines of the National Assembly.

Petkova's comment followed a meeting involving the governing partners BSP-United Left and There Is Such a People (TISP) with representatives of Democracy, Rights and Freedoms (DRF)-Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF), who on Monday expressed in a statement that the appointment had not been discussed within the framework of the Joint Governance Council.

"I explained to my colleagues that Lyudmila Petkova served as caretaker Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister for a year, and during that time, I did not hear a single political party speak ill of her," Petkova said. She mentioned that Lyudmila Petkova is an expert with more than 30 years of experience at the Ministry of Finance, having worked in tax administration and control. This is why she is the Director of PFIA.

I assured my colleagues that the Ministry of Finance, along with its structures and agencies, will not be used for political purposes. If there is any sign of misuse, just as I personally appointed Petkova, I will personally dismiss her. However, I will not accept another issue—when someone is labelled a political tool before they even start their work. I find this equally unacceptable," Petkova added.

"We explained to our colleagues from DRF-MRF that the Joint Governance Agreement clearly specifies the positions that need to be coordinated, and these are only the positions of deputy ministers, regional governors, and deputy regional governors. All other positions are outside the scope of the Joint Governance Agreement and the coordination procedure," Petkova said.

MRF-DRF strongly opposed the appointment. "We consider this approach unacceptable, as it was made without transparency and consultations with the stakeholders within JGC. Even more concerning is the fact that the aim is to turn PFIA into yet another repressive structure in the hands of [MRF-New Beginning's leader] Delyan Peevski through his operative," MRF-DRF’s statement reads.

BSP-United Left supported the appointment. BSP - United Left Chair Atanas Zafirov said on Monday that this was not discussed at the Joint Governance Council and "such discussions do not belong there."

Before leading PFIA, Lyudmila Petkova was appointed as Deputy Finance Minister but was relieved of her duties by Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov on February 4. Lyudmila Petkova holds a master's degree in Economics and Trade Management from the University of National and World Economy in Sofia.

She spent 15 years at the National Revenue Agency, where she held various expert and managerial roles. Since April 2010, she has been the Director of the Tax Policy Directorate at the Ministry of Finance. She served as Deputy Finance Minister overseeing the budget, taxes, National Revenue Agency, Customs Agency, and Tax Policy Directorate at the Ministry of Finance during 2013-2014, September to December 2021, and August 2022 to June 2023.

She has been a member of the Supervisory Board of the National Health Insurance Fund twice and served as its chair from 2013 to 2014.