site.btaDeputy PM for EU Funds Management: Parliament Must Review Three Bills Closely Related to Eurozone 

The current Parliament must review three bills drafted by the Finance Ministry, closely related to the eurozone. Otherwise, Bulgaria would risk a difficult eurozone entry within the scheduled deadlines, said here on Monday caretaker Deputy Prime Minister for EU Funds Management Atanas Pekanov on Bulgarian National TV's morning show. 

There are two main criteria related to Bulgaria's acceptance in the eurozone - one is related to inflation and the other one is the legal framework, he explained. According to Pekanov, inflation is currently decreasing and is expected to be contained. 

Commenting the legal framework, Pekanov said that there are three bills the caretaker has drafted and Parliament must review and vote on. They are related to the Insurance Code, the independence of the Bulgarian National Bank and improving the measures against money laundering. All three bills are also related to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. According to Pekanov, Bulgaria isn't currently in full compliance with this Treaty, which is why it is important that Parliament reviews these bills. 

Commenting the first Recovery and Resilience Plan payment Bulgaria received last week, Pekanov described it as a success achieved by the caretaker Cabinet. He recalled, however, only one of the 22 necessary laws under the Recovery and Resilience Plan have been adopted so far. "We tabled them on the first day of this Parliament, but almost nothing has been done so far in the past two months," the Deputy PM said. 

He said that there is no way Bulgaria can request the next payment of EUR 724 million under the Plan without fulfilling a total of 66 measures, 22 of which must pass through Parliament.