site.btaFormer Finance Minister Says Rollover-Budget Balance Positive, Hands Over to Caretaker Finance Minister

Former finance minister Temenuzhka Petkova said the caretaker government was inheriting stable and sustainable public finances from the regular cabinet at a handover ceremony at the Ministry of Finance in Sofia on Thursday.

Petkova added that she had briefed Caretaker Minister of Finance Georgi Klisurski on the ministry’s work over the past year and the state of public finances.

“We noted the strategic decision for Bulgaria to join the eurozone on January 1, 2026, after our country managed to meet all the criteria for membership. This was an undeniable success for the country, a dream of generations of Bulgarian citizens,” Petkova said, adding that the introduction of the euro in Bulgaria was going smoothly and without disruptions.

Petkova referred to information from recent days that, based on reporting data as of December 31, 2025, budget execution showed a deficit of 3% of the country’s gross domestic product, and she said this had disproved all assumptions and comments about a record deficit.

She said she had told Klisurski that 2025 saw the highest nominal growth in revenues in the past several years, with more than BGN 14 billion more than the revenues recorded in 2024.

“The state of public finances, I daresay, is stable. We really left sustainable public finances, which was one of our government’s main goals,” Petkova said.

Petkova said they had also discussed the state of public finances at the moment, and that as of January 31, 2026, the budget balance under the Consolidated Fiscal Programme was positive at EUR 212 million. She added that this was good news because public finances were currently operating under a rollover budget.

“We leave our colleagues in the caretaker government truly stable public finances, and I wish them success,” Petkova said. She also thanked experts at the Ministry of Finance, the National Revenue Agency, the Customs Agency, the State Financial Inspection Agency, the Public Procurement Agency and the Audit of EU Funds Executive Agency for their professionalism and work together.