Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2025 All Rights Reserved

Doling out money gives rise to corruption: Ex-PM Ivan Kostov

Ivan Kostov
Photo: Ani Petrova

“Doling out money gratuitously to people in need is impossible because the resources are limited. The government would come out of the crisis with a huge deficit,” Ivan Kostov, Prime Minister of Bulgaria in the 1997-2001 period said for the Bulgarian National Radio.

“According to the EU, the country’s GDP is going to go down by 7.2%. That means EUR 4.2 billion. There is no way the government can find the billions needed to compensate for all incomes. Calls for such a thing are populist. Even if it does find the money from somewhere, it couldn’t be absorbed and will only give rise to corruption,” Ivan Kostov said. He added that Bulgaria is not the only country where measures to address the damages are taken under pressure and urged for taxes not to be changed  mid-year.  



Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

The Consulate General of Bulgaria in Los Angeles has issued recommendations due to new fires

The Consulate General of Bulgaria in Los Angeles has issued recommendations due to two new fires that have broken out in the Los Angeles and Ventura counties in the United States. The Hughes fire has spread over more than 10,000 acres of land, while..

published on 1/24/25 8:56 AM

A documentary about the discovery of the relics of John the Baptist to be presented in Vratsa

2025 marks the fifteenth anniversary of the discovery of the relics of St. John the Baptist during excavations on an island near Sozopol by a team led by archaeologist Professor Dr. Kazimir Popkonstantinov. The authenticity of the discovery has been..

published on 1/24/25 6:10 AM

Cloudy weather and higher temperatures expected on Friday

On Friday morning, there will be fog in the lowlands and valleys. The cloud cover will start to increase from the west. The lowest temperatures will be between minus 2°C and 3°C, around minus 1°C in Sofia. During the day, there will be temporary..

published on 1/23/25 5:20 PM