Finance Minister Galab Donev announced that the draft budget for 2026 will be submitted for discussion and adoption to the Council of Ministers on July 1, and will be sent to the National Assembly on the same day. In the BNT studio, he emphasized that the new budget plan relies on realism and integrity, and in practice only ensures the completion of policies adopted by previous administrations, without introducing new initiatives.
According to the Finance Minister, criticism of the framework comes from political forces, whose mistakes from the past are now coming to light. He was categorical that all expenses in the draft budget are a consequence of already made commitments.
"What we are putting into the budget is realism and integrity. People should know what the exact numbers are, as they are. They criticize him because he doesn't care that their mistakes have come to light. All the expenses are from policies that they have adopted. We don't have a single policy in this budget to implement. This is the budget that completes policies from previous administrations," BNT reports Donev's quote.
Regarding the set deficit of 5.7% and communication with European institutions in Bulgaria's first year as a member of the eurozone, Donev pointed out that the European Commission has a clear picture of the situation.
"The EC looks at things realistically. It assesses when the thread in the budget was dropped. It analyzes all the data it has access to. We entered the eurozone with correct data - what was officially submitted to the EC is different from what was “swept under the carpet“ and is now coming out. We will ask Eurostat when to report these costs – these are invoiced projects that have not been paid", explained the minister.
The Finance Minister also explained the details of the capital program in Budget 2026, indicating the specific items for investments and payments.
"These 4.6 billion euros include 2.55 billion euros of funds that are European-funded. Here are all the projects and investments that must be made and paid by August 31 this year under the PVP. The remaining 2.04 billion euros are national funding. Of these, over 562 million euros are the funds that we are providing this year for the payment of municipal projects. Here are other projects – for hospitals, kindergartens, investment capital programs of ministries, the National Social Security Institute, the Health Fund and municipalities, plus an additional 130 million euros," Donev also said.
In the perspective of the next fiscal year, Galab Donev assured that the tax burden on citizens and businesses will not be increased.
"In 2027 there will be no increase in taxes and there will be no change in the tax system, which will become a fact from January 1, 2027. A deep administrative reform is coming - much more digitalization and artificial intelligence, so that people can receive faster services at a lower price" concluded the Finance Minister.