European partners appreciate Bulgaria’s fiscal discipline, Borissov tells AmCham
Prime Minister Boiko Borissov, addressing a January 29 2013 American Chamber of Commerce in Bulgaria lunch audience, praised the performance of his centre-right government’s fiscal management in the four years it has been in office.
Borissov said that the financial discipline achieved by his GERB government was appreciated by Bulgaria’s European partners. The country’s low fiscal deficit, low foreign debt and compliance with the Maastricht criteria could be boasted by few countries in the European Union, according to the Prime Minister.
He expressed hope that other European countries would improve their macroeconomic indicators and show stability in financial terms, because a crisis in one country affects those nearby.
Listing the key events in Bulgaria in the past year, Borissov said that the worst in many respects was the suicide bombing terrorist attack on a group of Israeli tourists at Bourgas Airport. At the same time, he expressed his gratitude to the assistance given by United States, Israeli and European institutions in the investigation.
Borissov described the January 19 gas-pistol-pointing incident involving Ahmed Dogan at the Movement for Rights and Freedoms congress in Sofia as a “reprehensible act” but warned against drawing conclusions too hastily before the investigation into the incident (for which a man is in custody) is completed. Borissov said that in an election year – he hinted that the date for the regular parliamentary elections would be July 7 – “provocations” would always occur.
Commenting on the January 27 national referendum on the future of nuclear energy in Bulgaria, Borissov said that he hoped that in future, referendums would be held on issues of real importance to society.
Responding to a question about Bulgaria’s absorption of EU funds, Borissov said that Bulgaria was one of the few countries that used European funds as intended. He expressed hope that in 2013, the rate of absorption of EU money in Bulgaria would reach 80 per cent.
(Main photo: Council of the EU)
