Vigenin: Bulgaria must not fight the excessive deficit at the expense of incomes and social payments

“When we are facing both an excessive deficit and high inflation, we cannot solve the problem only by cutting spending. Punishing people by freezing wages, limiting social payments and cutting investment is strongly inadvisable. People must come first.” This was stated by Bulgarian MEP Kristian Vigenin from the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament in an interview with bTV Radio.

The excessive deficit procedure

In his words, the excessive deficit procedure is not the result of one-off factors, but of a lasting trend that the European Commission is observing in Bulgaria’s public finances. “The Commission analyses medium-term trends and can clearly see which direction the Bulgarian economy and budget are heading. On debt we are still far from critical levels, but on the deficit the trend is already taking us persistently above the permitted 3 per cent,” Vigenin pointed out.

In his view, the government should take a balanced approach to the problem rather than relying only on spending cuts. “When you have an excessive budget deficit, there are two ways to change it: cut spending and/or increase revenue. The government seems to be heading straight for spending cuts. We believe there are also other ways to increase revenue,” he stressed.

The European Commission’s recommendations

Kristian Vigenin noted that the European Commission has also raised the need for changes to Bulgaria’s tax system. “Most tax revenue in Bulgaria comes from indirect taxes, mainly VAT, which is extremely unfair because the same tax is paid by everyone. At the same time, income tax is 10 per cent for everyone. This further deepens inequality, and Bulgaria is among the countries with the greatest inequality in the European Union,” the MEP stressed.

In his words, one possible step is to introduce a tax-free minimum and restore progressive income taxation. “A progressive tax scale will not only bring more money into the budget, but will also restore fairness to the tax system. In a society built on solidarity, people with the highest incomes should also contribute more to the budget and to the country’s development,” Vigenin said.

His initiative to help citizens

In the interview, he also commented on his initiative to review the European rules on tethered caps on plastic bottles, prompted by numerous reports and complaints from citizens. “I am constantly asked about this, and I decided to raise it in the European Parliament too. The practical harm linked to the inconvenience for citizens, as well as the negative effect on attitudes towards the European Union, should not be ignored. There are grounds to try to remove an excessive regulation that inconveniences hundreds of millions of European citizens,” he said.

Vigenin pointed out that citizens report difficulties opening and closing bottles, inconvenience in use and even injuries caused by the design of some caps. “When a decision inconveniences hundreds of millions of people and there are also questions about its real effect, there is nothing wrong with putting it up for discussion. We need to find a sensible solution,” Kristian Vigenin summed up.

The European Commission is due to assess the effect of the directive.