Education spending during this government's term increased 2.5 times, Finance Minister Plamen Oresharski said at a meeting with teachers in Aitos (Eastern Bulgaria) on Wednesday.

Oresharski tops the list of the Coalition for Bulgaria in the Bourgas Region for the July 5 parliamentary elections. He said education was a key priority of this cabinet.

The last four years saw changes unprecedented between 1990 and 2005. The money allocated for education in 2009 is neither more nor less than the appropriations for the other public sectors, Oresharski said.

Meeting with local business representatives, Oresharski singled out tax cuts, a several-fold increase in foreign investments and economic growth as some of the government's achievements.

Despite the crisis, Bulgaria will be the only European country with a small first-half budget surplus and a break-even budget at the year's end.

Source: BTA