Prime Minister Rumen Radev (right)
Bulgaria's National Assembly adopted the draft 2026 state budget on first reading on Wednesday, approving a deficit of 5.7% of GDP, or 7.191 billion euros, the highest in the eurozone and nearly double the figure that brought down the previous government seven months ago.
The bill passed with 143 votes in favor and 81 against following a re-vote, with support coming only from the ruling Progressive Bulgaria (PB) and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS). GERB, Democratic Bulgaria (DB), We Continue the Change (PP) and "Revival" all voted against. Prime Minister Rumen Radev and the full cabinet attended the debate, and at the proposal of budget committee chairman Konstantin Prodanov, the deadline for amendments between readings was shortened to five days, with the ruling majority aiming to adopt the budget by the end of the month.
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Galab Donev described the draft as "brave, but not reckless" and repeated his central argument that the deficit was inherited rather than created. "5.7 is not our government's deficit, but an expression of the deficit accumulated in the management of public finances in recent years," he told MPs. According to his breakdown, 3.268 billion euros in already incurred liabilities and 1.013 billion euros in revenues collected in advance during 2025 account for 4.281 billion euros of the shortfall, or 3.4% of GDP. Without those items, Donev said, the 2026 deficit would have stood at 2.3% of GDP.
