Employers' organizations remain firmly against the new state budget, which they believe deepens the deficit and injustice between the private and public sectors.
The Chairman of the Association of Industrial Capital in Bulgaria (AIKB) Vasil Velev described the financial framework as "the weakest and most labor-robbing budget in decades".
"This is a final warning to the government. Our withdrawal from the Tripartite Council shows that things are broken. "This budget is pro-inflationary, wasteful and destroys what works in the system," Velev told Euronews.
In his words, instead of stimulating productivity, the government is pouring money into "unreformed systems", taking out new loans for this purpose.
Velev sharply criticized the increase in social security contributions by 2 percentage points, which, according to him, will reduce the net income of those working in the private sector by about 60 leva per month.
"People from the real economy will pay more so that employees in the Ministry of Interior and the judiciary can receive 600 leva higher salaries. This is turning Bulgaria into a police state with the most expensive justice system in Europe," he added.
According to Velev, spending on security, defense and administration is at levels that exceed the economy's capabilities.
"In the private sector, salaries depend on productivity. The state raises them with loans, which leads to a debt trap. By 2028, foreign debt will double and reach nearly 100 billion leva, and interest on it will triple," he warned.