The European Commission will publish a report as part of the spring package of the European Semester, which will make it clear whether Bulgaria is entering an excessive deficit procedure and the reasons for this.
Last week, Prime Minister Rumen Radev said that the Commission will impose monitoring and possible sanctions on Bulgaria, as well as that it was lied to in order to enter the eurozone. He added that this year the deficit will be even greater".
According to the procedure, if a member state exceeds the reference values for the deficit or debt, the European Commission prepares a report in which it analyzes whether the respective country has an excessive deficit.
If, after taking into account all factors, the Commission considers that an excessive deficit procedure is necessary, it informs the EU Council and proposes that it adopt a decision establishing its existence. Following the Commission's proposal, the Council examines any observations made by the Member State concerned. It then adopts a decision containing an overall assessment of the existence of an excessive deficit.
If the Council has concluded that an excessive deficit exists, it adopts a recommendation, based on a recommendation from the Commission, setting out ways to correct the situation. It may include a corrective budgetary plan and a deadline. The country concerned must then take the necessary action within 6 months.
If effective action is not taken by the deadline or if the country concerned fails to comply with the recommendation, the Council may impose sanctions, including a fine of up to 0.05% of GDP for the preceding year.