Vladislav Goranov recently reassumed the office of Bulgarian Minister of Finance, taking over from Kiril Ananiev, who served as the caretaker minister.

During the ceremony marking his assumption of duties, Goranov expressed his commitment to updating the three-year budget forecast, which maintains tax rates, works towards a balanced budget and pushes for increased integration into the European Union’s financial structures, according to an announcement.

“Of course we will continue making efforts in this direction in the way we consider appropriate, i.e. by using silent diplomacy to convince our partners that we are ready to join the European financial infrastructure," Goranov said in the announcement.

He also said that the country is set on the right path when it comes to reducing its budget deficit and expressed his hopes that Bulgaria would outperform expectations this year.

"I am a moderate optimist that if the revenue and law-enforcement bodies continue working well, we will manage to achieve a deficit that would be lower than planned,” Goranov said. “[E]conomic growth is something we should be trying to accelerate, and with our conservative 2016 autumn forecasts I expect an even higher growth."

Goranov noted that he would continue his working relationship with Ananiev, who will serve as his deputy along with Marinella Petrova.