Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Galab Donev rejected claims that Bulgaria had manipulated data in order to qualify for eurozone membership, telling lawmakers during a parliamentary question session that there had been no falsification of information, only what he described as “accounting tricks.”
The remarks came during a blitz parliamentary oversight session attended by the government's four deputy prime ministers. Prime Minister Rumen Radev did not take part. Much of the discussion focused on the state budget, public finances, and Bulgaria’s fiscal outlook in the coming years.
Responding to questions from Tsoncho Ganev of "Revival", Donev reiterated that the figures submitted in connection with Bulgaria’s eurozone ambitions had not been falsified. At the same time, he confirmed European Commission projections indicating that Bulgaria’s budget deficit could reach 4.1% of GDP in 2026 and 4.3% in 2027.
The issue prompted a challenge from GERB lawmaker Temenuzhka Petkova, who pointed out that Donev had recently warned of a possible deficit of 7.4%. She asked him to explain the discrepancy between the figures. The finance minister did not provide a definitive explanation for the difference.
