Bulgarian MPs approve amendments to 2025 Budget Act extension
The annual inflation correction applied to Bulgarian retirement pensions in July will proceed on schedule after Bulgaria’s Parliament voted on June 3 to amend the law extending the duration of the provisions of the 2025 Budget Act.
Bulgaria’s National Assembly is yet to adopt a Budget package for 2026, after the bills tabled by the Rossen Zhelyazkov government last year triggered large-scale protests that led to that Cabinet’s resignation in December.
Former president Roumen Radev’s Progressive Bulgaria coalition won the ensuing early elections, but only took office last month. Earlier on June 3, Finance Minister Gulub Donev said that the government was working on tabling the 2026 Budget package by the end of the month.
Bulgaria’s law on public finances allows, in the absence of a Budget approved by Parliament, to extend the provisions of the previous year’s Budget. Under this framework, central and local governments can continue to spend within the limits set in 2025 Budget, but not higher than the revenue collected in 2026.
However, the previous version of the law had no provision for the annual inflation correction of retirement pensions, which the current bill addressed. Pensions are to increase by 7.8 per cent from July.
Another provision of the bill cuts the state subsidy for parliamentary represented parties from 4.09 euro for each vote received to three euro.
A provision raising the debt ceiling to allow the government to draw 3.8 billion euro in new debt to finance the Budget deficit was withdrawn in committee between the two readings.
(Photo: parliament.bg)
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