The day is dominated by a National Security Council meeting chaired by President Rumen Radev, with the situation in Afghanistan and the coming wave of coronavirus Delta variant on the agenda. A revision of the 2021 budget is also up for discussion at the meeting.
The caretaker government appointed by Radev submitted the budget revision to the new parliament but it is doubtful the political parties will have the time or desire to look it up before they agree to form the country's next government.
The Constitutional Court will consider the case of Economy Minister Kiril Petkov
The country's top court will consider a request submitted by 55 MPs to rule whether Kiril Petkov can serve as a Bulgarian government minister if he had not renounced his Canadian citizenship prior to being appointed to his current post. Petkov says he held both Bulgarian and Canadian citizenship but gave up on the second one before he became minister. However, it is not clear whether this had been legally confirmed by the Canadian side before Petkov was sworn in.
The Constitution forbids dual citizenship holders from becoming government ministers. Petkov is one of the more successful ministers in the caretaker government intent on dismantling corruption schemes and the attack against him surprisingly came from There Is Such a People party, which won the July 11 elections with a promise for a clean start.
Delta variant takes over Bulgaria
The more dangerous variant of COVID-19 is dominating the rise in new infections in the country, as practically all of them are Delta. Most of the country is now in the orange zone with over 100 new infections per 100,000 thousand people a day for the last 14 days. This has happened earlier than predicted by the health authorities.
Inflation reaches 3%
The National Statistical Institute announced that inflation accelerated to 3% on an annual comparison basis in July, which is 0.3 percentage points above June inflation rate. Last month, the main driver of inflation remained fuel pricess, which rose 25% on an annual basis. Another big factor is the price of utilities which are showing 4.4% annual growth. The prognosis is for 3.5% inflation at the end of the year.
The day is dominated by a National Security Council meeting chaired by President Rumen Radev, with the situation in Afghanistan and the coming wave of coronavirus Delta variant on the agenda. A revision of the 2021 budget is also up for discussion at the meeting.
The caretaker government appointed by Radev submitted the budget revision to the new parliament but it is doubtful the political parties will have the time or desire to look it up before they agree to form the country's next government.
