Government, TUs and employers reach agreement on budget 2026

Accord has been reached on the principal parameters of the new draft law on the state budget for 2026, said Finance Minister Temenuzhka Petkova after a meeting with the trade unions and the employers in connection with the drafting of a new state budget for 2026. It will be submitted to the National Assembly next week.

• Bulgarian Parliament approves withdrawal of 2026 budget

Salaries in the public sector next year are to go up by 10%. The minimum wage in the country will remain EUR 620 a month as previously proposed, but as of 2027 the automatic process of its calculation could be done away with. The maximum insurance threshold next year will be EUR 2,300, Minister Petkova said. The measures from the draft budget that was withdrawn which were contested most by businesses are being dropped – the 5% to 10% increase of divided tax, the implementation of state-regulated software for sales management in commercial establishments, the 2 percentage point increase in social security contributions as of January 2026.

The tripartite council is to hold a final discussion of the budget on Monday.

• Bulgaria after the protests – cabinet withdraws budget, citizens demand values

The discontent with the previous draft budget triggered the biggest protests in Bulgaria in decades.

Edited by Miglena Ivanova
Translated by Milena Daynova