Is it possible that the proposed Budget 2026 from the "Radev" cabinet can be challenged before the Constitutional Court? Former Finance Minister and current GERB MP Temenuzhka Petkova raised this alarm in the plenary hall during a blitz control, a FOCUS reporter reported.
"The proposed draft Budget for 2026 contradicts the law and can be attacked before the Constitutional Court," she said. We recall that the draft approved by the Council of Ministers by Galab Donev assumes an excessive deficit of 5.7% of GDP - who is to blame for this large deficit - the question remains unanswered, since the topic of the budget is like a hot potato - an uncomfortable problem that everyone runs away from in order not to take responsibility.
She recalled Art. 25, para. 2 of the Public Finance Act:
"The deficit of the "General Government" sector on an annual basis, calculated based on the methodology of the European System of National and Regional Accounts of the Community, cannot exceed 3 percent of the gross domestic product".
There is also a second important rule - Art. 27, para. 4 ZPF: "The annual budget deficit under the consolidated fiscal program, calculated on a cash basis, cannot exceed 3 percent of the gross domestic product".
"The legal conclusion: a budget with a deficit of over 3% cannot, in principle, be legally submitted and adopted, because it would contradict a current imperative norm of the Public Finance Act. The Council of Ministers is obliged to comply with the fiscal rules under the law when drawing up and implementing the consolidated fiscal program," she said, adding that if there are no formally justified “extraordinary circumstances", a budget with a deficit of over 3% would be unlawful.
"The National Assembly adopts the budget, but cannot simply circumvent the general fiscal rules with the annual budget law, because the Public Finance Act regulates the budget framework and fiscal restrictions. In addition, the law itself says that its matter cannot deviate from its principles and rules through another law," Petkova pointed out.
"The budget is the result of populism from previous governments, and was not invented by the Minister of Finance"
Prime Minister Rumen Radev responded sharply:
"The entire policy in recent years was a gross violation to get us here. It was not invented by the Minister of Finance, but is the result of the populism of several governments, systematic decapitalization of state-owned companies, advance tax requirements. Can we reduce the deficit by reducing it to the people's pockets, can we leave the municipalities undeveloped - we can. Can we suffocate the economy, could we not increase pensions - we could. But we will not do it. What we will do is complete financial discipline and a revision of these payments that we will make to activities that were adopted by previous governments," he said.
Rumen Radev said that the deficit is the result of voluntarism, populism and the inadequate actions of several successive parliaments and governments and added that among the reasons for reaching this situation is the systematic decapitalization of state-owned companies, advance demand for tax that is due next year and many other reasons.
"The transfer of unpaid activities to subsequent years is stopped. Possible options for reducing the budget deficit were reducing the income of working people, not paying investors and stifling the Bulgarian economy, stopping the increase in pensions," Radev said and added that the government would not do all of this.
From the rostrum of the parliament, the Prime Minister promised complete financial discipline, a revision of the payments that will be made for activities adopted by previous governments and approved by this National Assembly without being financially secured. Checks will be made to see if it will be paid, but the funds have been pledged and must be fulfilled, Radev said.
Promises for a reduced deficit
"We are committed with the 2027 budget to showing a significant reduction in the deficit and, if possible, in loans. "If we can reduce the budget deficit in this year's draft budget, let's do it, but this is an extremely difficult task," the prime minister added.