site.btaAfter Night of Protest, Government Pulls 2026 Budget and Vows to Renew Dialogue with Unions, Employers

A day after thousands protested in downtown Sofia against the government’s 2026 draft budget, GERB-UDF leader Boyko Borissov Thursday said the package would be withdrawn, triggering the cancellation of Thursday’s Budget Committee meeting and opening the door for renewed talks between the government, employers and trade unions on a revised fiscal framework.

Borissov told reporters in Parliament’s lobby on Thursday morning that he had advised Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov and Finance Minister Temenuzhka Petkova to withdraw the draft budget or find a legal mechanism to proceed. Borissov said that until dialogue is restored with the National Council for Tripartite Cooperation and an agreement is reached on how the country will be run in the coming years, the government should operate under the existing budget for 2025. "I’ve told you many times I don’t like this [draft] budget," Borissov said.

Asked whether Bulgaria could enter the eurozone as planned, from January 1, 2026, without a new budget for 2026, Borissov replied: “It makes no difference. The current budget has a 3% deficit, exactly as required by the European Commission, so there is no problem.”

He described Wednesday’s protest in central Sofia as "very good".

Shortly after Borissov’s announcement, the meeting of the National Assembly’s Budget and Finance Committee, which was scheduled for Thursday to review the 2026 State Budget Bill at second reading, was cancelled.

Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov said the government, employers and unions "will sit down at the negotiating table, we will once again try to restore dialogue" and achieve macroeconomic indicators for the budget that will be satisfactory for a large part of business and for a large part of society.

Before long, Boyko Borissov said on Facebook that the dialogue between employers and trade unions has been restored, and on Friday meetings will begin at the Finance Ministry to finalize all details regarding the 2026 State Budget Bill. “The state stands behind every Bulgarian citizen,” Borissov added, noting that this consensus was reached during a meeting at GERB headquarters with Finance Minister Temenuzhka Petkova, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Innovation and Growth Tomislav Donchev, Budget and Finance Committee Chair Delyan Dobrev, former Finance Minister Vladislav Goranov, as well as Confederation of Employers and Industrialists of Bulgaria Chair Kiril Domuschiev and Bulgarian Industrial Association President Dobri Mitrev. Representatives of the two national trade unions, the Podkrepa Confederation of Labour and the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions of Bulgaria, also attended the meeting.

The Wednesday night protest and Thursday developments prompted comments by government officials and political parties.

Deputy Prime Minister and Bulgarian Socialist Party leader Atanas Zafirov said that there can be no compromises on incomes, families, pensions, healthcare or the condition of municipalities. "If there is no possibility to continue the planned social policies, BSP - United Left will reconsider its participation in the government", he said as quoted by the party press office.

Agriculture and Food Minister Georgi Tahov commented that withdrawing the budget will not delay payments in the agricultural sector, and all payments are on schedule.

Sofia Mayor Vassil Terziev said in a post on social media that the withdrawal of the draft budget is a good sign, which takes the protesters' righteous anger into account. He pointed out that the main problem remains the draft budget, which does not reflect the needs of the people, and urged MPs to hear the protesters' demands.

National Assembly Deputy Chair Tsoncho Ganev of Vazrazhdane said that his parliamentary group expects the proposed tax increases in the 2026 State Budget Bill to be withdrawn by its sponsors. According to him, in its current form the draft budget is harmful and should be pulled out.

Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria MP and Democratic Bulgaria Co-Chair Atanas Atanassov said the draft budget must be withdrawn and revised, with the National Council for Tripartite Cooperation brought into the process, all accounts reviewed, and spending on what he described as “slush funds” cut.

Later in the day, Continue the Change and Democratic Bulgaria commended the announcement by GERB, after a night of massive protests in Sofia, that the 2026 draft budgets would be withdrawn. "After they ignored the opposition and the experts, and refused to listen to businesses, we are glad that they finally listened to the Bulgarian citizens and that this budget, which is disastrous for the country, will be withdrawn and revised," said Continue the Change leader Assen Vassilev. Ivaylo Mirchev MP of Democratic Bulgaria said that the next step is for the power-holders to incorporate the opposition's proposals.