The Ministry of State Administration will not spend money on printing calendars, notebooks and other printed materials usually used as Christmas gifts, the ministry's press office said on December 1 2008.

Every Christmas, various ministries and state bodies spend money on hundreds of promotional materials, including pens, key chains and postcards, which are distributed to staff and partner organisations. This year, State Administration Minister Nikolai Vassilev has banned the printing of any materials as a consequence of the global financial crisis.

“The minister believes that the tax payers could be spared the expenses on promotional materials spent by state administration every year,” the ministry said. Vassilev has urged all the other Government institutions to do the same when possible.

Some media comments said that although this was a good way to show how expenses in state administration could be optimised, Vassilev's initiative could cost Bulgaria's printing industry dearly if more and more state institutions and private companies follow Vassilev's example.