site.btaAssen Vassilev Calls New Pension Rules "Outrageous and Unconstitutional"

Continue the Change party leader Assen Vassilev described as "outrageous and unconstitutional" the discontinuation of the COVID supplement for pensions granted after July 1, approved by the National Assembly on Wednesday along with other amendments to the so-called budget extension law for 2026.

Vassilev commented: "If your pension decision is issued on June 30, with the same length of service, average salary and conditions, you will receive EUR 30 more than you would if it were issued on July 1."

The former finance minister noted that 110,000 people are expected to retire this year, and 55,000 of them will do so in the second half of the year. "Each of them has the right to file a complaint with the Commission for Protection against Discrimination [CPD] and recover the EUR 30. Apart from creating red tape for pensioners, the law has achieved absolutely nothing," Vassilev said.

He promised that Continue the Change will provide legal assistance to ensure that all these complaints reach the CPD. He urged citizens: "If you are awarded a lower pension after July 1, go directly to a Continue the Change office and we will help you submit your complaint to the commission and receive your EUR 30 per month."

Responding to Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Galab Donev, who said that the government deficit exceeds 7%, Vassilev noted that in 2023, when Donev was prime minister, the deficit had been announced at 6.8%. Parliament then adopted a budget with a 3% deficit, and "we finished the year at 2%". "Galab Donev is obviously only capable of so much," Vassilev said. As was seen in 2023, such a high deficit reflects excessively inflated spending, he added.

Vassilev also said that Bulgaria is currently experiencing inflation and revenue growth, which is expected to amount to around EUR 7 billion in 2026. "To tell me that you cannot balance the budget at a 3% deficit means either that you do not want to or that you cannot. If you do not want to, that is clear; if you cannot, then leave and let someone else do the job," he said.