Sofia, December 22 (BTA) - "We have 1.2 billion leva in additional revenues in the country, which will be redirected to the National Assembly with a proposal on how to spend them," said Prime Minister Kiril Petkov after today's regular government meeting. "We believe this is the way to manage additional revenues transparently, instead of leaving them to the Council of Ministers," Petkov added.   

He said that the Cabinet will propose to Parliament that 750 million of these funds should go to supplements to pensions, and 450 million - for additional energy assistance to businesses. The final decision will be made by the National Assembly.  

Speaking before the Council of Ministers' meeting earlier on Wednesday, Petkov said that the social pensions will be updated, as this has not been done in a while.    

The Prime Minister also pointed out that the agenda of the government session envisages the allocation of 54 million leva for the medics in the front lines against the COVID-19 epidemic. The Prime Minister also commented that a lot of funds will be directed toward health, social policies and regional development.     

Kiril Petkov added that the Cabinet is expected to approve an additional 60 million leva to help air carriers, and 40 million for COVID-19 tests. An additional 2.6 million will be invested in the operation of the Ruse airport.      

The Prime Minister also pointed out once more that the National Assembly, not the Council of Ministers, will distribute the additional revenues in the budget.    

"There will be support of nearly 1.5 billion leva in the coming months to help manage the energy price crisis," Petkov after today's government meeting. He explained that 1.3 billion will go to compensations for high electricity prices, and the remaining 200 million - for gas prices.

"We are focusing strongly on this direction, making sure the smallest businesses are supported in the best way. We will try to avoid supporting businesses that have already managed to reduce their risk and their prices are low. The support measures will not be the same for everyone", the Prime Minister added.

Speaking after Cabinet's meeting, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Assen Vassilev said that a supplement of 60 leva per pensioner per month is planned for the following six months. He explained that the 60 leva are a bonus related to the COVID-19 crisis, which will be paid from January 1 until June 2022. Thus, the coalition agreement is implemented, according to which the pension formation and reform should be reviewed in the following six months, Vassilev added. The idea is to structurally preserve the current system with adopted changes related to the update of pensions, coming into force on December 25.

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