The main thing that the Ministry of Finance is currently working on are the parameters of Budget 2026. This was stated by Finance Minister Galab Donev, emphasizing that realistic figures and measures are being sought that will reflect the actual state of public finances.
„We are looking for realistic figures and that approach and those measures that will lead us to the real state of finances in the state“, he pointed out, quoted by Dariknews.bg. According to him, all procedures are currently being prepared so that the 2026 budget procedure can be completed on schedule and the project can be submitted to the National Assembly at the end of June.
The minister also commented on experts' proposals for additional fiscal measures, including ideas for cost optimization and changes in individual systems.
„All kinds of measures are needed – both in the revenue and expenditure parts, so that we get closer to the real numbers in the budget, such as they are bearable“, he added.
In parallel with the preparation of Budget 2026, work is also being done on the parameters of Budget 2027.
“In parallel with this, we are also preparing the relevant calculated parameters for Budget 2027, so everything is going according to plan“, the minister also said.
We recall that the draft budget must be submitted to parliament by the end of the month. According to him, the main challenge is achieving a sustainable deficit of around 3% through measures with a long-term effect on state finances.
Budget Committee approves raising debt ceiling by up to 3.8 billion euros
Meanwhile, the parliamentary Committee on Budget and Finance approved on second reading changes to the so-called extension law for the budget, which envisage an increase in the ceiling of the new state debt to 3.8 billion euros. According to the texts, the Council of Ministers will be able to take on new debt in the amount of up to 3% of the estimated gross domestic product until the adoption of the State Budget Act for 2026.
The amendment to the law is necessary because, according to the Public Finance Act, in the conditions of a rolling budget, the Council of Ministers may take on new state debt only for the purpose of refinancing existing obligations up to the amount of annual repayments on the debt already taken on.
The amount of the state debt maturing in 2026 is 1.41 billion euros, as new debt of this amount has already been taken on since the beginning of the year, through the issuance of government securities on the domestic market, which in practice means that the government cannot take on new debt until the adoption of a regular budget for this year.