The power holders have reached an agreement on the 2024 state budget and revoking the derogation granted by the EU Council for the import and processing of Russian oil and oil products by the Lukoil Neftohim Burgas refinery, it transpired after Friday’s talks of GERB-UDF and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) with Finance Minister and Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria co-leader Assen Vassilev.
At a joint news briefing, GERB-UDF Floor Leader Dessislava Atanassova said that the derogation will be revoked in two stages: in the first, the export quotas will be discontinued as of January 1, 2024; in the second stage, the derogation will be revoked entirely as of March 1, 2024. "We have agreed to this transition period solely to prevent shocks on the market," she explained.
In Atanassova’s words, Vassilev assured GERB-UDF and the MRF that in the future, his parliamentary group will not vote in a majority with Vazrazhdane, the Bulgarian Socialist Party, and There Is Such a People.
The partners in the Government have found ways to meet all demands for the 2024 state budget’s revenue and expenditure, it also transpired at the news briefing. They have agreed on the budgetary framework and the contents of capital expenditure. Minister Vassilev will table the 2024 State Budget Bill next week.
Parliament Budget and Finance Committee Chair Yordan Tsonev (MRF) specified that GERB demanded more realistic revenue to be set in the budget, and the sum will be reduced by BGN 2.4 billion, equal to the planned installment from the gas transmission fee. The Finance Minister also accepted GERB’s demand for a list of investment sites of national priority, such as the Struma and Hemus motorways and the Pleven-Ruse road, Tsonev said. The MRF demanded a priority list of investments for municipalities. The two lists will be specified between the 2024 State Budget Bill’s first and second reading and will be backed with budget resources.
The capital programme will be reduced to BGN 10 billion from BGN 12 billion to meet the requirements set, Tsonev said. The government debt ceiling was specified at BGN 1 billion to BGN 1.2 billion.
Vassilev said that a key change is the removal of Gazprom’s installment from the draft budget’s revenue part due not being 100% secured; the capital expenditure is reduced by the same sum, to just under BGN 10 billion. The rest of the budgetary framework remains unchanged. An agreement was reached that Parliament will allocate the fund of BGN 1 billion for municipalities’ priority investment lists; municipalities will have until December 11-12 to elaborate their priority projects. The list of investment sites of national priority should be systematized and included in the budget with information on how the resources will be spent: not only on roads but also on the purchase of helicopters, new trains, Vassilev argued.
“To me, the solution found for the derogation is absolutely useful, there is enough time for a smooth transition without a price raise for Bulgarian consumers,” the Finance Minister commented. “We had a sincere conversation with GERB to not vote with [parliamentary] majorities outside of the current one [of CC-DB, GERB-UDF, and the MRF], because that leads to unhealthy processes and loss of trust,” he noted.
/MY/
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