site.btaMPs Adopt Amendments to Budget Extension at First Reading

MPs on Friday adopted at first reading amendments to the budget extension bill with 174 votes in favour and 23 against, with no abstentions. All parliamentary groups supported the proposal except Vazrazhdane. The deadline for proposals between the first and second readings was shortened to three days.

Amendments allow for the extension of the Act on Collecting Revenues and Incurring Expenditure in 2026 until the Adoption of the 2026 State Budget Act, the 2026 Public Social Insurance Budget Act, and the 2026 National Health Insurance Fund Budget Act, in accordance with Article 87, paragraph 4 of the Public Finance Act. The current version of the budget extension is valid until the end of March.

The act proposes mechanisms for financing the increased costs resulting from the one-time salary indexation in the budget sector, the minimum wage increase, as well as the social payments increase, caused by regulatory acts entering into force, which can be covered with funds from the previous year.

Mayors of municipalities will be able to finance expenses for local activities in amounts greater than the expenses for the same period of the previous year, up to the amount of the municipality's own revenues for the respective period, budgetary relations with the central budget and other budgets and accounts for European Union funds and the municipality's borrowed funds.

The Council of Ministers will be able to negotiate and conclude an agreement with the European Commission for a loan of up to EUR 3.2 billion to receive financial support through the reinforcement of the Security Action for Europe instrument. The Council of Ministers will have the opportunity to set in motion actions for amendments to the Medium-Term Debt Management Strategy for international markets in accordance with Article 39 of the Euro Adoption Act of the Republic of Bulgaria.