December 23 (BTA) - Parliament voted Thursday to spend the surplus budget revenue for additional payments to pensioners and compensations for the spiking electricity prices. The decision was moved by the government and was unanimously approved by the legislature with 201 votes in favour.

Analysis of the tax revenue collected so far according to the updated state budget for 2021 indicates that an additional 1.2 billion leva will be collected, the arguments in support of the decision state.

An additional amount of up to 750 million leva will be allocated to the Public Social Insurance Budget to cover additional payments of 60 leva to pensioners as of January 1, 2022. The additional payments will be available from January to June 2022 and will be for all pensioners, regardless of the pension amount they receive.

Parliament also approved additional expenses of up to 450 million leva for the 2021 budget of the Energy Ministry, as a compensation for the high electricity and natural gas prices for nonhousehold consumers in the first three months of 2022.

Speaking before Parliament, Finance Minister Assen Vassilev recalled that this year had already seen additional revenues, which were redistributed with the 2.5 billion leva budget update, while currently there are another incoming 1.2 billion leva. The addition of 60 leva, plus the pension raise as of December 25 this year will guarantee that no pensioner will be left below the poverty line (314 leva).

The Finance Ministry intends to table Budget 2022 by end-January next year so that it may become a fact in February, he added.

Denitsa Sacheva, GERB, asked what the incumbent were planning for July when the term for reception of the additional (60 leva) would have expired. She also noted that it would be good to extend that term until December 31, 2022.

According to the government-forming coalition talks, a new legislation providing for a new model of pension provisions should be enacted by June, Vassilev said in response. A budget update is also planned then and that new model is to be included.

Roumen Gechev of BSP for Bulgaria demanded that the Government be commissioned to reconsider swiftly the rules of organization and operation of the Independent Bulgarian Energy Exchange. УThe more we increase the aid for business, the more speculators will want to grab this money,Ф he said.

Georgi Ganev of Democratic Bulgaria said it was important how the Energy Ministry would agree to distribute the sums with business, declaring also the support of his group.

Vassilev appealed to the MPs to elect new members of the Energy and Water Regulatory Commission as soon as possible, to replace those whose mandate has expired and to provide a (viable) partner to the Government.

Movement for Rights and Freedoms MP Yordan Tsonev said he considers imperative a debate on the design of the measures before the budget for 2022 is passed. The present measures are outdated and those bearing the brunt of the inflation shock should be the main beneficiary, he said.

The Vuzrazhdane Party is of the opinion that a profound analysis is needed to identify which sector really needs a several-fold larger than the quoted sum. They say the sum set aside is small.

Source: Sofia