Good afternoon and welcome to all.
We held consultations with the political parties represented in the 42nd National Assembly. Today’s consultations are part of a constitutional procedure on forming a government. After the resignation of the Council of Ministers was accepted today and before the exploratory mandate to form a government was given to the largest parliamentary group, the President, under the constitution, held consultations with the political parties represented in Parliament.
This time, as I did in March 2013, I invited all parties together, so as to dispel even the slightest doubts about any arrangements made with some political party. I am acting promptly and decisively not only because this is how the political parties declared that they would like me to but also because this is how the people wanted me to act. I regret that the Attack party did not respond to my invitation. Apparently this is how they understand and demonstrate in public their attitude to the institutions and the constitutional order in the country.
The political parties represented in Parliament that took part in today’s consultations declared that within the 42nd National Assembly it is impossible to form a stable majority which will be able to nominate a functioning government. The solution in the democratic countries in such a situation is to conduct elections. The date of the elections is clear – 5 October. It is the result of the agreement reached among all political parties at the Consultative Council for National Security, as well as at the consultations held at the Head of State’s office.
Trust lies at the basis of political stability. Trust is guaranteed when commitments are assumed and fulfilled. Therefore I hope that together with the political parties we will follow the procedure stipulated by the constitution so that the date we agreed on to hold the general election, namely 5 October, will be observed and also that on 6 August, by virtue of a presidential decree, the 42nd National Assembly will be adjourned and a caretaker government will be appointed. Therefore the next actions will not only be promptly taken, but also in a manner which will provide the 42nd National Assembly the opportunity to make last yet important and necessary decisions, given the unstable and quite unpredictable situation in the country.
I will hand down the exploratory mandate to the biggest political party represented in parliament, namely political party GERB, as early as today. If they give up the mandate, I will hand down the mandate to the second largest parliamentary group, namely Coalition for Bulgaria. The third parliamentary group which will receive the mandate for forming a government within the 42nd National Assembly is the Movement for Rights and Freedoms.
Today I also raised the issues which, in my opinion, the current parliament should solve at the least before it adjourns. Although they are only three, they are extremely important for the work of the next two governments until the end of the year, as well as for the nation.
First, it is already clear to all that the state budget should be updated and also that of the National Health Insurance Fund. I call on for turning our backs to political confrontation and for making the necessary budget update serve the interests of the patients, the interests of the municipalities, speed up the utilization of EU funds, avert the bankruptcy of the beneficiaries under the operational programs, unfreeze the suspended payments, guarantee the financial stability in the state and others.
I would like to have the state budget updated and to have an objective, professional and expert, not political, but objective interpretation of the revenues, the expenditures, the debt, the deficit, the risks, which should be addressed by the end of the year.
Secondly – parliament should make a decision whereby the caretaker government will be able to conduct negotiations and sign agreements with other countries, international organizations and financial institutions and take out foreign loans and ensure financial stability and social protection.
Thirdly – I raised the issue about the state in which the current National Assembly left the most important regulator, namely the Bulgarian National Bank. It is particularly important that Bulgaria has a functioning Central Bank, which should win the public trust in the whole banking and financial system.
The solution of these three issues I believe is urgent and requires a functioning National Assembly and, of course, a non-partisan and nationally responsible behavior, which I hope all political parties represented in parliament will display from now on during the last days of the current National Assembly. We should not postpone finding the solution, we should not rely on the next National Assembly. We have a dynamic environment and I believe that the political parties will find a solution to these three issues. I am planning also to address the National Assembly tomorrow.
I would like to thank you once again for being with us today. Now I would like to go upstairs again where Boyko Borisov, leader of political party GERB, will take part in the procedure stipulated by the constitution for handing down the mandate to the biggest political party.
Thank you.