European Commission questions Bulgaria’s 2027 budget plan

The European Commission has asked Bulgaria to explain how its draft budget for 2027 will comply with EU fiscal rules. The Commission’s Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs set out its questions in a letter to Bulgaria’s Finance Ministry, BGNES reported.

The letter, dated 26 October, was published on the Commission’s website alongside Bulgaria’s reply of 2 November. Based on the draft budget, the Commission projects that Bulgaria’s net expenditure will rise by 10.1% in 2026, above the 4.2% ceiling recommended by the Council of the EU. For 2027, it projects growth of 1.3%, below the recommended ceiling of 3.4%. 

The Commission asked the Bulgarian authorities to explain what is driving the increase in net expenditure and how they intend to comply with the Council’s recommendations. It warned that a full assessment of Bulgaria’s measures might be needed at a later stage. If that assessment finds that Bulgaria has failed to take effective action, the excessive deficit procedure could be stepped up.

Bulgaria is already subject to an excessive deficit procedure and is expected to bring its budget deficit below 3% of GDP by 2029. The Commission’s final assessment of whether the draft budget complies with EU fiscal rules is expected by 30 November.

Editor: Ivo Ivanov