Continue the Change Continues Consultations on Government Coalition Agreement
NW 18:51:31 26-11-2021
LG1849NW.114
114 POLITICS - CONSULTATIONS amplified
Continue the Change Continues
Consultations on Government
Coalition Agreement
Sofia, November 26 (BTA) - Consultations held by the Continue the Change party with experts of BSP for Bulgaria, There Is Such a People and Democratic Bulgaria, intended to reach an agreement on Bulgaria's future coalition governance, went into their fourth day on Friday.
Labour and social affairs and tourism were discussed at the morning session of the talks, and a discussion on national security and sports followed in the afternoon.
Each session was moderated by a Continue the Change Co-Chair: Kiril Petkov or Assen Vassilev.
The talks were live-streamed on Continue the Change's YouTube channel, Facebook page, and on https://promeni.bg.
Labour and Social Affairs
The participants in the consultations agreed that the 2022 State Budget should guarantee that pensions next year will not be lower than their present amount. The minimum wage will be set as a percentage of the average wage, and the maternity benefit will equal the minimum wage.
Vassilev, who moderated that discussion, summed up the participants' proposals: scrutinizing the pension system within six months in order to index pensions fairly and setting up a new mechanism.
The participants admitted that meeting the EU directive's target of a minimum wage equivalent to 50 per cent of the average would be difficult to achieve as from 2022 but can be done by the end of the four-year term of the coalition government.
The maximum contributory income will be increased and will be set as a coefficient of the average wage.
Teleworking will be regulated by legislation.
In 2022, the maternity benefit for the second year of the child-care leave will equal the minimum wage. The participants were unanimous that attendance of state-owned creches and kindergartens should be free of charge. A voucher system will be introduced to support parents whose children aged ten months and older were not enrolled for day care. The financial resources must be focused on opening more places in day care for children.
There Is Such a People asked that the kindergarten measures be planned in the context of regional policy rather than concentrate on families with children in Sofia.
Entitlement to heating allowance will be expanded, and energy poverty will be defined. The business support measures mitigating the COVID-19 crisis will continue next year.
Control over the grant of social assistance will be tightened. Undeclared cash payments in excess of the formally declared labour remunerations will be punished by hefty fines.
Continue the Change proposed that able-bodied persons should be ineligible for social assistance. "If someone can work, they should work and not rely on welfare benefits," Vassilev argued.
Tourism
The experts concurred on allocating financial support to the tourism industry to offset the steep rise in energy prices. They also agreed that tourism should be included among the sectors eligible for soft loans from the Bulgarian Development Bank.
A proposal to establish a guarantee fund for tour operators was also accepted.
The potential coalition partners agreed to keep the 9 per cent VAT rate for tourism services, but Petkov added that the sector should be encouraged to move out of the shadow economy and workers should be paid by bank transfer so as to avoid tax evasion. He added that severe penalties for paying cash supplements to wages under the counter are contemplated.
Other points on which the participants reached consensus include: providing free COVID tests for tourism staff, launching an online visa centre, revising the concession award policy, providing support to the self-employed in the tourism industry, and establishing a national coordination centre to monitor the quality of tourist services, to which consumers can submit alerts.
A proposal to increase the value of food vouchers to 100 leva, so that people could choose whether to spend them in a retail chain or on an overnight stay in a star-rated accommodation remained debatable and will be revisited during forthcoming negotiations on public finances. Petkov suggested that the vouchers scheme and its application should be analyzed and reviewed.
He also proposed that consolidations of tourist organizations should be encouraged, but the subject was shelved.
Democratic Bulgaria asked that concessions for beaches and ski areas be abolished.
Continue the Change prioritizes the completion of the Hemus Motorway and the rehabilitation of the Trakia Motorway, so as to ease access to seaside resorts. RY, DS/LG, YV, KK/LG
//
LG1849NW.114
114 POLITICS - CONSULTATIONS amplified
Continue the Change Continues
Consultations on Government
Coalition Agreement
Sofia, November 26 (BTA) - Consultations held by the Continue the Change party with experts of BSP for Bulgaria, There Is Such a People and Democratic Bulgaria, intended to reach an agreement on Bulgaria's future coalition governance, went into their fourth day on Friday.
Labour and social affairs and tourism were discussed at the morning session of the talks, and a discussion on national security and sports followed in the afternoon.
Each session was moderated by a Continue the Change Co-Chair: Kiril Petkov or Assen Vassilev.
The talks were live-streamed on Continue the Change's YouTube channel, Facebook page, and on https://promeni.bg.
Labour and Social Affairs
The participants in the consultations agreed that the 2022 State Budget should guarantee that pensions next year will not be lower than their present amount. The minimum wage will be set as a percentage of the average wage, and the maternity benefit will equal the minimum wage.
Vassilev, who moderated that discussion, summed up the participants' proposals: scrutinizing the pension system within six months in order to index pensions fairly and setting up a new mechanism.
The participants admitted that meeting the EU directive's target of a minimum wage equivalent to 50 per cent of the average would be difficult to achieve as from 2022 but can be done by the end of the four-year term of the coalition government.
The maximum contributory income will be increased and will be set as a coefficient of the average wage.
Teleworking will be regulated by legislation.
In 2022, the maternity benefit for the second year of the child-care leave will equal the minimum wage. The participants were unanimous that attendance of state-owned creches and kindergartens should be free of charge. A voucher system will be introduced to support parents whose children aged ten months and older were not enrolled for day care. The financial resources must be focused on opening more places in day care for children.
There Is Such a People asked that the kindergarten measures be planned in the context of regional policy rather than concentrate on families with children in Sofia.
Entitlement to heating allowance will be expanded, and energy poverty will be defined. The business support measures mitigating the COVID-19 crisis will continue next year.
Control over the grant of social assistance will be tightened. Undeclared cash payments in excess of the formally declared labour remunerations will be punished by hefty fines.
Continue the Change proposed that able-bodied persons should be ineligible for social assistance. "If someone can work, they should work and not rely on welfare benefits," Vassilev argued.
Tourism
The experts concurred on allocating financial support to the tourism industry to offset the steep rise in energy prices. They also agreed that tourism should be included among the sectors eligible for soft loans from the Bulgarian Development Bank.
A proposal to establish a guarantee fund for tour operators was also accepted.
The potential coalition partners agreed to keep the 9 per cent VAT rate for tourism services, but Petkov added that the sector should be encouraged to move out of the shadow economy and workers should be paid by bank transfer so as to avoid tax evasion. He added that severe penalties for paying cash supplements to wages under the counter are contemplated.
Other points on which the participants reached consensus include: providing free COVID tests for tourism staff, launching an online visa centre, revising the concession award policy, providing support to the self-employed in the tourism industry, and establishing a national coordination centre to monitor the quality of tourist services, to which consumers can submit alerts.
A proposal to increase the value of food vouchers to 100 leva, so that people could choose whether to spend them in a retail chain or on an overnight stay in a star-rated accommodation remained debatable and will be revisited during forthcoming negotiations on public finances. Petkov suggested that the vouchers scheme and its application should be analyzed and reviewed.
He also proposed that consolidations of tourist organizations should be encouraged, but the subject was shelved.
Democratic Bulgaria asked that concessions for beaches and ski areas be abolished.
Continue the Change prioritizes the completion of the Hemus Motorway and the rehabilitation of the Trakia Motorway, so as to ease access to seaside resorts. RY, DS/LG, YV, KK/LG
//
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