Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Galab Donev announced that the budget procedure has begun and is actively underway. In parallel with the preparation of the 2027 Budget, the Ministry of Finance is also working on a new social package, Nova TV reports.
„A letter has been sent to all ministries and primary spending authorities so that we have a budget on time. By October 15, we will present the general framework and parameters of the 2027 budget plan according to the requirements of the EC's excessive deficit procedure. The debt necessary for the payments under the PVP has been collected, and not the entire amount voted by the National Assembly“, he explained.
According to him, the government is doing everything possible to lower the budget of 3.8% to the Maastricht criteria. “The budget for 2026 was adopted on July 31, the entire cycle was shifted by more than half a year forward, all estimates and expenses are shifted to the third and fourth quarters. Much depends on the implemented projects. Among the priorities is the consolidation of expenses, but if the municipalities and ministries do not implement the projects under the capital program, the expense will be moved to 2027“, the minister said.
The minimum wage for 2027 should be set in the range between 620.20 and 672.80 euros, and the government will strive to have its amount as close as possible to the upper limit, the finance minister said.
According to him, an “exceptional breakthrough“ has been achieved in the talks with the social partners on the mechanism by which the minimum wage will be determined in the future. “We have agreed on the mechanism by which the amount of the minimum wage will be determined“, the minister said.
The changes have already been submitted to the National Assembly as amendments to the Labor Code. It sets out four criteria by which the minimum wage should be calculated. After their adoption by the parliament, changes will also have to be made to the Regulation on the structure and organization of the wage. Only then will the Council of Ministers be able to determine the final amount of the minimum wage for 2027.
This procedure was reached after the unions and employers' organizations failed to reach an agreement on the specific amount themselves.
“The range in which the amount should be determined is 620 euros and 20 euro cents and 672 euros and 80 euro cents. These are the lower and upper limits, which are obtained according to the criteria adopted by the social partners“, explained the Finance Minister.
He stated that the cabinet will seek the highest possible level within these limits. “We are doing everything possible to ensure that the minimum wage is as close to the upper limit of this range as possible“, he said.
Social package with an emphasis on children and families
Along with the preparation of Budget 2027, the Ministry of Finance is also working on a new social package. Its main focus will be support for children and families.
“We are working to propose a social package through the budget that will enable us to support children and families. This will be the basis of this social package“, the minister said.
It will also include the minimum wage policy. Changes are also planned for pensions, which, according to the government's request, should be updated again next year according to the so-called Swiss rule. “There is no area that does not have adjustments, no change in the parameters“, the Finance Minister pointed out, without revealing the specific dimensions of the remaining measures at this stage.
The Finance Minister was also asked about the expected protests against the cabinet and whether the preparation of Budget 2027 could cause additional public discontent.
“There is no basis“, he said. According to him, the specific demands of the protesters must be clearly stated. He stressed that work on the budget continues and there are still no final parameters of the policies and programs that will be financed next year.
Donev welcomed the first day of school at the school where he himself was a student - the 35th Secondary Language School “Dobri Voynikov“. Donev congratulated the students, teachers and parents on the occasion of September 15.