The International Monetary Fund (IMF) will not approve additional expenditure from the national budget for flood relief after the latest downpours in Bulgaria. This became clear after the final meeting between Finance Minister Plamen Oresharski and IMF mission leader for Bulgaria Hans Flickenschild. A natural disaster should not be used as an excuse for more lenient fiscal policies, Flickenschild said. Instead, the Fund suggested that Bulgaria postpones some of the planned spending for this year and transfers the money for other uses. The Cabinet should save money from the budget, in order to allocate more funds for flood relief. Flickenschild said that not all losses from the floods can be covered this year. Some of the work would continue next year, when the Cabinet can come up with new budgetary allocations, Sega reported.
The IMF suggested that Bulgaria should undertake education maximisation measures by closing down schools. The Education Ministry would not accept such an option, Education Minister Daniel Vulchev said.