'In the most favourable possible macroeconomic environment, blowing up the budget is a financial, political and social catastrophe'
SOFIA – Bulgaria’s new government is facing the same pitfalls that brought down its predecessor, with budgets becoming a political headache for the eurozone’s newest member.
Last Wednesday, Finance Minister Galab Donev submitted Bulgaria’s draft 2026 state budget to parliament – projecting a deficit of 5.7% of GDP, or €7.2 billion, the highest in nearly three decades and the highest in the eurozone.
Public debt is projected to reach €50.5 billion by 2028, with expenditure rising nearly 20% compared to 2025.
Donev has framed the deficit as inherited. “The budget looks this way because it shows what was hidden for years”, he told the bTV broadcaster, implying previous governments concealed the true state of public finances to meet the fiscal criteria for eurozone entry.
