Everything must be seen, thought through carefully and only then should criticism of the budget be made. It is normal and understandable for politicians to criticize before they have read everything, but I am surprised how former finance ministers make such criticisms in this situation. As early as September last year, the deficit had reached 3%. The question is how at the end of the year it ended up at 3% again. Through the Bulgarian Development Bank, after increasing its capital by 4 billion leva (about 2 billion euros), as well as through the capitalization of other companies, expenses were paid that were not included in the budget balance. If these expenses are accounted for and a real analysis of the funds that passed through ministries is made, we will see a completely different picture. This was announced to Lili Marinkova in the studio “FACTS“ and the program “Conversation“ by Lyubomir Karimanski, member of the Governing Council of the BNB.
“Last year, many activities were implemented under Appendix No. 3 to the state budget, which is related to municipal projects. All these activities were carried out in 2025, but were not invoiced then. The invoicing took place at the beginning of 2026. Therefore, these processes must be assessed in a longer time horizon and on an accrual basis. There is no way that expenses postponed for years will not have an impact. Of course, this does not justify the lack of a sufficiently clear program of the current government. It must show what its program of action is. Based on this program, the reforms must be clearly outlined - what they are, how they will be implemented, within what timeframe and what effect is expected from them. This is exactly what the management program should be“, the guest added.
“If the medium-term budget forecast does not fulfill the strategic goals of the management, then the budget itself becomes a document without a clear direction. Currently, Radev's government is trying to limit the mechanical increase in expenses, tied to the average salary. Similar measures are included in the medium-term budget forecast, but many of the other measures are not well communicated and explained. It could have been approached much bolder. Courage means making real reforms“, Karimanski also said.
See more of the conversation in the VIDEO.