President Iliana Iotova promulgates Bulgaria's 2026 budget

President Iliana Iotova promulgated Bulgaria's 2026 state budget, saying the country could not afford further institutional and financial uncertainty despite concerns over some of its provisions. Parliament gave final approval to the budget on July 24, the Bulgarian news agency BTA reported.

"Despite reservations about some of the budget's parameters, the presidency cannot allow further institutional and financial uncertainty for the state. I am promulgating the 2026 State Budget Act adopted by parliament," Iotova said, quoted by BTA.

She noted that Bulgaria had operated for seven months under a twice-extended 2025 budget drafted in the lev before adopting the euro on January 1, 2026.

Iotova said more than 3 billion euros in payments remained outstanding, while about 1 billion euros in expected revenue would not enter this year's budget because it had already been collected in advance. The unpaid obligations included projects approved in previous years but not yet settled, she added.

On Tuesday, the opposition We Continue the Change party submitted a petition signed by more than 32,000 Bulgarians urging Iotova to veto the budget. The party said it would challenge the law before the Constitutional Court if it was not returned to parliament for reconsideration.

GERB-SDS lawmaker Vladislav Goranov also said on Tuesday that the coalition would file a constitutional complaint against the budget after its promulgation. The Podkrepa trade union has also come out against the spending plan.

Critics say the budget's planned deficit of 5.7% of gross domestic product is too high, that it lacks meaningful reforms and that the planned increase in public debt and spending could fuel an inflationary crisis.


Editor: Miglena Ivanova

English editor: Elizabeth Radkova