site.btaFinance Minister: Joint Work Leads to Budget Ensuring Smooth Eurozone Entry

As a result of the National Council for Tripartite Cooperation’s joint work, the government is able to propose a budget that will allow Bulgaria to enter the eurozone smoothly and with dignity, Finance Minister Temenuzhka Petkova said following the Council meeting on Monday.

The Council, bringing together the government, employers and trade unions, examined the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) Budget Bill and the Public Social Insurance Budget Bill for 2026. The Bulgarian Industrial Capital Association (BICA) did not support the proposed NHIF Budget Bill, while the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria abstained. The social partners expressed their support for the 2026 Public Social Insurance Budget Bill. 

The Finance Minister thanked businesses and trade unions for restoring constructive dialogue and for the outcomes achieved in recent weeks. According to her, the revised draft budget received near-unanimous support. Only BICA expressed some concerns and abstained, which is understandable and standard practice, Petkova argued.

“Thanks to the dialogue, the current budget proposal abandons the initially planned increase in contributions to the Pension Fund from January 2026, a twofold increase in dividend tax, and a rollout of sales management software in retail outlets,” Petkova said. 

She further noted that an agreement had been reached with the employers and trade unions regarding permanently vacant positions in the state administration, which, according to government analysis conducted at the start of its term, number 5,500. The draft budget provides that between 2026 and 2028, these positions will be reduced proportionally and the administration will be optimized.

A Cabinet meeting held later on Monday is dedicated to the three draft budgets for 2026 - the State Budget, the NHIF Budget, and the Public Social Insurance Budget. 

The initial State Budget Bill for 2026, which was approved by the Council of Ministers and submitted to Parliament for consideration in November, was withdrawn on December 2 by a decision of the Council of Ministers, following large-scale protests across the country on December 1. Also withdrawn were the NHIF Budget Bill and the Public Social Insurance Budget Bill. On December 6, the Ministry of Finance published the new draft state budget for 2026 and the Updated Medium-Term Budget Forecast for 2026-2028 on its official website. On December 7, the Supervisory Board of the National Social Security Institute unanimously approved the draft public social insurance budget for 2026 and the Supervisory Board of the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) approved the NHIF draft budget for 2026.