site.btaOutgoing Cabinet to Carry Out One-off Indexation Increasing Wages of All Public Sector Employees by 5%

The outgoing Government will apply the more favourable regime for Bulgarian citizens and will carry out a one-off indexation, as provided for by law, increasing the wages of all employees in the public sector by 5%, said outgoing Finance Minister Temenuzhka Petkova at a briefing at the Ministry of Finance on Thursday, adding that the issue will be discussed at the Cabinet’s next meeting.

On December 17, 2025, Parliament adopted at first and second reading the so-called budget extension act.

Lawmakers adopted a proposal by Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria MP Assen Vassilev providing for a one-off indexation of wages in the amount of the accumulated annual inflation as of December 31, 2025, for all employees in the public sector who are not on the minimum wage. The proposal was backed by 183 MPs, with three voting against and none abstaining.

As there are a number of ambiguities in this text, the Ministry of Finance immediately took action and submitted an official inquiry to the National Statistical Institute (NSI) to obtain information related to the application of this provision of the so-called budget extension law, Petkova said. “The information we received today from the NSI shows that the consumer price index under the national methodology as of the end of 2025, as of December 31, 2025, is 5%, while the harmonised consumer price index - the index used to measure inflation in all EU Member States and for comparisons between them - is 3.5%,” Petkova said. She added that the outgoing Government will take the necessary steps and will apply the regime that is more favourable for Bulgarian citizens by carrying out a one-off indexation of all wages by 5%.

Petkova commented on remarks made by Assen Vassilev to journalists earlier on Wednesday in Parliament regarding inflation levels. Vassilev, commenting on the monthly inflation data for December 2025, said that inflation was quite high - twice as high as the level he had left behind as finance minister in 2024.

Minister Petkova recalled the baseline from which inflation should be viewed during the period when Assen Vassilev was finance minister. This was 2022, when inflation in Bulgaria, according to the consumer price index, stood at 16.9%. Inflation according to the harmonised consumer price index for 2022 - the index used for comparison across all EU Member States - was 14.3%. “So much for inflation with regard to Mr Vassilev’s presence in the country’s public finances and his contribution to inflationary processes,” Petkova said.

She further noted that in 2025, compared to 2024, the increase in the minimum wage was 15.4%, while the increase in the average wage for 2025 compared to 2024 was 11.8%. Therefore, she said, there is no basis whatsoever to speak of any impoverishment of Bulgarian citizens, given the visible inflation rate and the growth in wages.

Petkova also said that the government is working to ensure that the 5% indexation is implemented as quickly as possible.

Asked when this would happen, she explained that this is a very large-scale and complex process, as each individual employee’s salary must be recalculated and indexed once by 5%, which will take some technological time. However, the indexation will be reflected in February wages. “We are working in that direction - if it can happen as early as the end of January, that would be best, but if we are unable to complete the task, as it also depends on other budget holders and municipalities, it will take place with the payment of wages in February, as quickly as possible,” Petkova said.

“People will receive what they are entitled to under the law. We did not wait for Mr Vassilev to remind us - we immediately took steps to seek clarification in order to understand the ambiguous text he proposed,” Petkova added.