site.btaDeputy PM Donchev Says Budget Is Coalition's "Pivot"

Interviewed by bTV on Sunday, Deputy Prime Minister and Innovation and Growth Minister Tomislav Donchev said the 2026 draft budget is the pivot of the whole coalition. 

Donchev added that the proposed budget is not the best possible version. He believes Bulgaria should have pursued a much bolder deficit-reduction path: "What I like least about this budget is that it resembles the budgets of 2022, 2023 and 2024."

With a more reformist budget, however, the government could have fallen, due to "major differences between some of the partners", the Deputy Prime Minister said.

Commenting on the minimum wage for 2026, which was set at BGN 1,213 (EUR 620.20), up by BGN 136 (12.6%) from the current minimum wage, Donchev said the principle of setting the minimum wage on the basis of the average wage is a perpetual motion machine. He believes that if this persists, Bulgaria could become the country with the highest minimum wage in Europe within six or seven years, which would not be a problem if it were based on competitiveness, the economy and labour productivity.

He said he is against administratively set wages, and since there are other payments linked to the minimum wage, it would be appropriate to reach a political consensus to end this practice.