The project proposal of the use of the State budget surplus 2008 was approved yesterday in the Parliament. It provides that over 1.2 billion leva will be spent on social activities. Still, the Opposition voted against, stating that the project was useless.

According to Bulgaria’s PM Sergey Stanishev, the money from the surplus will be divided in two main packages – social and investment package.

Over 90 million leva will be spent on increasing retirement pensions and additional 338 million – on Christmas bonuses for Bulgarian pensioners. This means that this year the retirees will receive 150 leva each for the Christmas holidays. Stanishev said that in the beginning of democracy in Bulgaria the bonus was 25 leva and 150 leva is the largest sum ever granted by any Bulgarian government in the times of the passage from communism to democracy. He also reminded that from the beginning of the mandate of the current government the pensions have been increased by 68%.