23.04.2018
In the fight against smuggling and corruption, we will remain relentless and relentless, Prime Minister Boyko Borissov said during a presentation of the latest quarterly survey results from conducted by the five companies of the Anti-Trafficking Initiative for Smuggled Cigarette Levels in the European Union.
6.6% is the share of illicit cigarette consumption in Bulgaria in the last quarter of 2017, which is one of the lowest in the EU and places our country among the top four in tackling the problem. Compared to the fourth quarter of 2016, contraction of the smuggling share is by 1.2 per cent.
Prime Minister Borissov noted that the Southern border regions show negative indicators, having contraband rates above the national average. He set a one-month deadline for an analysis of the registered increase over the previous quarter, when the country scored a record 6% share of smuggled cigarettes. "0.6 per cent is half a box of cigarettes, but it is a lot for us," the Prime Minister said he was determined to take measures to overcome the trend for the following quarter.
With 6.6 per cent of smuggling of cigarettes, Bulgaria stands well in comparison with 20 of EU member states, which were also analyzed for the fourth quarter of last year, the survey's organizers pointed out.
The Prime Minister said he would raise the issue of the fight against smuggling at a meeting of the European Council. In his words, the lack of relevant legislation in some Member States is causing serious damage to the budget of the entire Union. "I will raise this issue with the Council of the EU, because it is because of these losses that the budget for Cohesion Policy for Eastern European countries is reduced," Borissov said.
