People engaged in the sphere of art are staging a protest in front of the Council of Ministers over the planned low budget in the sector for next year, and are demanding a meeting with the prime minister and the minister of culture. They are shouting “Denkov, come down!” (Prime Minister Nikolai Denkov – editorial note) and are hurling insults, the situation remains strained, BNR’s Svetoslava Kusmanova reports. If they are not invited for talks, the protesters say they will march to the Ministry of Culture in the hope of being received at a deputy minister’s level. 

Actors, film directors, musicians, artists and dancers are calling for an increase in their pay, as well as a significant increase in the budget for culture. The protest which passed under the motto: “A nation without culture is a nation without a future”, is organized by the trade unions in the sector.

Finance Minister Assen Vassilev later said that the protesters' demands could not be met because the budget for culture had already been increased significantly compared to last year - by more than 50 million leva for the performing arts and 28.5 million leva for museums, community centres and libraries. "I don't understand what they are protesting about. If someone in the state wants a 50 per cent increase in salaries, with inflation predicted at 5 per cent, it obviously cannot happen," the minister said.