Deputy Prime Minister Atanas Pekанов announced plans to cut 5,000 positions in the central administration and end the existing mechanism for indexing salaries in the „Security“ and „Defence“ sectors. He presented the measures as part of efforts to limit budget expenditure.
More than half of the positions slated for cuts are occupied. According to Pekанов, a significant number of employees will be dismissed, while others may retire. He did not specify how the cuts would be distributed among the individual ministries.
„This is being halted because it has placed an exceptionally heavy burden on the budget in the coming years,“ Pekанов said regarding the indexing of salaries in the security and defence sectors.
Spending on the Interior Ministry and defence has increased significantly
According to the data presented by the deputy prime minister, spending on the Interior Ministry increased by 76% between 2023 and 2025. The increase amounts to EUR 863 million. In the defence system, the rise was 62%, or around EUR 500 million.
Pekанов defended the proposed state budget and said that the government was seeking a balance between social spending, limiting the deficit and investments in economic growth.
Energy prices remain a problem for businesses
High energy prices are the most serious obstacle facing Bulgarian businesses, the deputy prime minister said. According to him, the increase in natural gas prices is among the main reasons inflation is remaining high.
„Energy policy and energy prices are the major obstacle,“ Pekанов said.
He said that the government was discussing the optimisation of existing programmes to support businesses. The possibility of using state liquidity resources is also being considered, but no specific amounts or deadlines were announced.
Pekанов linked high gas prices to the war in the Middle East and criticised the European model, under which the price of gas affects the final price of electricity. According to him, natural gas in Europe is 11 times more expensive than in the United States. The deputy prime minister also said that inflation was unlikely to return to 2% next year.
Pension funds and the budget deficit
Pekанов denied that, during government meetings he had attended, the transfer of funds from the second to the first pension pillar had been discussed. He said that such a measure was also absent from the final budget documents.
The deputy prime minister clarified that various options for limiting the deficit were being discussed with the European Commission. He pointed out that the budget deficit was 3.5% on a cash basis and 4.2% under the European methodology. „Unfortunately, both figures are above the required 3%,“ Pekанов said.
He confirmed that Bulgaria was subject to an excessive deficit procedure, but rejected the claim that this automatically led to the suspension of European funding.
The government is also discussing options for directing private capital, including pension fund assets, towards major infrastructure projects. Pekанов stressed that the talks were at an early stage and that there were still no specific decisions.
Sources: btvnovinite.bg