Employers and Trade Unions Offer Diverging Assessments of the 2027 Budget

The draft 2027 Budget has drawn divergent assessments from employers and trade unions. Dobrin Ivanov, executive director of the Bulgarian Industrial Capital Association, saw it as a move towards stricter fiscal policy, while Atanas Katsarchev, chief economist at the Podkrepa Trade Union, described some of the projected income levels as too low.

The two commented on the draft budget on “The Interview in NOVA News”.

Employers See Fiscal Consolidation

Dobrin Ivanov rejected claims of an impending recession. According to him, a recession would mean a decline in gross domestic product, while the medium-term budget forecast for the 2027–2029 period projects economic growth. He also pointed out that wages are increasing at a rate that exceeds inflation.

“Such a situation would imply a decline in gross domestic product, while the medium-term budget forecast for the 2027–2029 period projects economic growth,” Ivanov said.

According to him, the draft reflects an effort towards fiscal consolidation by curbing expenditure and stabilising public finances. Ivanov endorsed the finance minister’s description of it as a “budget of sobering up”.

He warned that continuing the policy of increasing social payments, pensions and salaries through borrowing would lead to serious financial problems.

Podkrepa Expects Revenue Reserves

Atanas Katsarchev expressed a different view of some of the parameters. According to him, the projected inflation rate is too low, which could indicate the presence of reserves on the revenue side of the budget.

“A minimum wage of 660 euros is too low, as is the minimum pension of 374 euros, which is even below the poverty line,” Katsarchev said.

The draft provides for the minimum wage to be 660 euros. Salaries in the public sector are set to increase by 5%, while the remuneration of education professionals will rise by 7.5%. It also envisages an increase in social expenditure and greater dependence of the social security system on the state budget.

Ivanov and Katsarchev clarified that they had not yet had the opportunity to examine all the parameters of the draft budget in detail. Katsarchev said that the Podkrepa Trade Union would conduct a more in-depth analysis over the weekend.

Sources: nova.bg