About a third of all Government structures in the state administration will be cut in order to save the state Budget up to 250 million leva a year, Finance Minister Simeon Dyankov said on July 21 2010, Dnevnik daily reported.

The cuts are intended to save up to 20 million leva a month or between 200 to 250 million leva a year, with some of the savings already made and reflected in the 2010 reformed budget, while the others will be included in the 2011 projected budget plan, Dnevnik reported.

Before GERB came to power in July 2009, there were 115 state departments, but now this number is down to 106, the report said. Since the restructuring process began, about 10 860 state employees have been made redundant, including personnel from the Interior Ministry. Now, a further 2500 are to be axed, according to Dyankov.

As part of the scheme, Agriculture Minister Miroslav Naidenov announced the amalgamation of three sections in the newly created Food Safety Agency. Out of 100 laboratories currently operational, only six will remain active, employed by the Ministry, while about 1600 people will lose their jobs.

Additional cuts will be done in the defence sector where minister Anyu Angelov announced that about the administrative costs of military colleges would be reduced by 40 per cent by the end of August. There would be further redundancies in the army, but no figures were disclosed pertaining to actual downsizing of the army's manpower as such matters must be approved by President Georgi Purvanov, who is the Commander-in-Chief.

Some staff currently employed at the Regional Inspectorates for Public Health Control would be transferred to the Food Safety Agency which is set to bring the state a further four million leva, Health Minister Anna-Maria Borisova said.

Finally, the Foreign Ministry is assessing the status of diplomatic missions abroad but as yet has made no decisions.