site.btaUPDATED President: If Parliament Reaches Consensus on Base 2023 Budget, Caretaker Cabinet Could Table it

Meeting with the leaderships of the Podkrepa Labour Confederation and the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria (CITUB), President Rumen Radev said that the state budget is the financial plan reflecting the policy of the parliamentary majority and the regular government, and no such exists at the moment. In his words, the caretaker government is engaged with people's problems but the parties in Parliament should bear their responsibility. Should they reach a consensus on a base budget for 2023 and on its rescue from election campaign bidding, the caretaker cabinet could table such a budget in the National Assembly, Radev said.

"I appreciate and completely share your concern over the serious inflation and people's incomes, decisions in the interest of Bulgarian citizens are needed," Radev told the trade unions, who Friday staged a protest for higher wages.

The President called on political leaders to not base their behaviour entirely on the expectation that new elections will be held soon. He called on the political parties to reach consensus on the formation of a regular government with a clear and long-term policy on incomes and Bulgarian economy's development.  

Regarding the topic raised by the trade unions about the liberalization of electricity prices for household consumers, Radev recalled that he had already stressed at European Council meetings that such a liberalization is currently unacceptable for Bulgaria. "It would be shameful to leave our people, who are with the lowest incomes, on the free market when we are third, and sometimes second, for electricity export in Europe," the head of State argued.

Responding to the trade unions' concerns about the commitment made by previous governments to drastically reduce carbon emissions in the coming years, which could increase the unemployment rate in Bulgaria's coal regions, Radev said that he will continue to defend the position for a gradual and socially fair transition of Bulgaria to cleaner energy. In the long term, this country should seek innovative options and technologies for green energy production to keep the employment of workers in the energy sector and to increase its competitiveness, he also said.