The Bulgarian government, employers and unions on Tuesday fulfilled expectations by reaching agreement on the possible ways to lift budget revenue.

However, the thorniest issues will be back on the talks table at the council for tripartite cooperation, which will gather again on Wednesday. The proposals include a freeze on power, heating, water and gas bills through the end of 2010 as well as a 2% increase of the value-added tax (VAT) at the idea of the finance minister.

Plamen Dimitrov, vice-president of trade union the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria (CITUB), said the partners in the tripartite council have gathered around the proposed freeze on regulated utility prices. Finance minister Simeon Djankov was tight-lipped on the matter.

The final decision is due to be made on Tuesday after the hearing of Angel Semerdjiev, who chairs the government-independent State Energy and Water Regulatory Commission (SEWRC).

However, macroeconomists slammed the proposal to halt utility tariffs, saying it would neither pump up revenue, nor rein in costs.

Both businesses and unions said the dialogue with government representatives, which lasted more than three hours, was “unprecedented.”

“The proposals to issue internal and external debt and emission trading under the Kyoto Protocol got threeway blessing,” said CITUB leader Zhelyazko Hristov.

The idea to sell minority stakes in state-owned companies on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange (BSE) also got the thumbs-up. So did the proposal to liberalise the investment of money accumulated in the Silver Fund, a structure set up to offset the extra costs of ageing after 2020.