site.btaPM Zhelyazkov on Draft State Budget, Eurozone Entry

Approached by Bulgarian reporters here on Monday, Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov commented on the draft state budget for 2025 and the eurozone. He was in Brussels to attend an informal meeting of EU leaders focused on strengthening European defence.

Zhelyazkov said that the budget execution data on a cash basis, for all funds disbursed last year, has already been submitted. Typically, the report on expenditures that are billed but not paid or those that are not billed but are encumbered comes in early March, he said. "In order to draft the budget, we have requested urgently to see what the accrual basis picture is, as the Maastricht deficit criterion is measured in terms of the accrual basis of liabilities. We will comment afterwards. For us, it is important what the budget we submit will be in terms of liabilities that were incurred last year but are payable this year, because that is part of the big spending picture," the Prime Minster added.

Zhelyazkov stated that the budget must be submitted within the Maastricht criteria and added: "Let us hope that the Bulgarian parliament will also show sense, so that we fit within the parameters of stability and good financial policy. We have repeatedly stated that the eurozone is a priority, for GERB and for the government." He said that a convergence report will be requested from the European Commission and expressed hope that it will give grounds to consider that Bulgaria has met the criteria. Asked when Bulgaria will ask for an extraordinary report, the Prime Minister specified that this would be decided after the Eurogroup meeting on February 17.

Asked about increased salaries in the Interior Ministry system and the promise of reduced VAT from 20% to 9% in the hospitality industry, Zhelyazkov said that those are obligations assumed by law, which is why they will be entered the expenditure side of the budget.