Bulgarian Budget's Income Statement 'Written Up' - Interim PM

The income statement of the state budget was overestimated by about BGN 2 B back at the planning phase, Bulgaria's caretaker Prime Minister Georgi Bliznashki said.

Bliznashki, who assumed office on August 6, warned that the budget approved by Plamen Oresharskí's government carried a risk of "a clear problem with the [National] Revenue Agency".

While he was in Varna to meet Mayor Ivan Portnih, he also announced that expenditures of the state administration should be slashed by 15% up to end-2014.

However, the caretaker government will "refrain" from doing so to avoid accusations of political "purges", the website Dariknews.bg quoted Bliznashki as saying.

A caretaker government is not entitled to update the state budget, since there is no acting Parliament to approve such a step.

The Prime Minister also defended the reappointment of Vanyo Tanov, a former head of the Customs Agency, to the same office, a move that divided the opinions in Bulgaria.

In his words, the Customs Agency was undergoing "grabs" and it therefore needed a professional like Tanov who could help to plug up smuggling channels.