site.btaOfficial Statistics Disprove PM's Claim that Excessive Deficit Procedure Is Inevitable - Democratic Bulgaria

The Prime Minister's allegation that Bulgaria faces an inevitable excessive deficit procedure is not borne out by official statistics, Democratic Bulgaria said in a press release on Tuesday. "The President of the National Statistical Institute did say that the budget deficit reported for 2025 is 3.5% [of GDP], but after an EU-sanctioned adjustment for defence spending, the level will be assessed within the admissible limit of 3%," the opposition parliamentary coalition specified.

Prime Minister Rumen Radev said on June 29 that the European Commission will launch an excessive deficit procedure against Bulgaria on June 3. In his view, the procedure implies that last year's budget deficit was "way above 3%", which would entail regular monitoring, restrictive measures, and possible sanctions. He described the situation as a "dire legacy" resulting from "negligence, incompetence, voluntarism, populism, and financial misconduct".

 "According to estimates and actual data submitted to the European Commission, last year's deficit was well above 3%, despite attempts [by the previous powerholders] to conceal it to achieve the goal of joining the euro area. This year, the deficit will be even larger," Radev said.

DB argued that the main task of the Cabinet and the parliamentary majority for the next 60 days is to adopt a realistic state budget with a deficit not exceeding 3% and to cut durably public expenditure. "At this stage, however, the Rumen Radev Cabinet does not seem to have yet a convincing concept of the way to achieve these goals," the opposition MPs point out.

They are ready to back effective measures for balancing the 2026 budget, which are not supposed to pose a serious political challenge because they are an essential part of the anti-inflation policy that is mandatory for this country.

"Prime Minister Radev is inclined to bow to pressure instead of standing up consistently for the objectives that have been publicly stated. This is a dangerous indication," the press release says. The opposition lawmakers recall that the programme of the Progressive Bulgaria (the majority force in Parliament) clearly says that taxes will not be raised "but the proposal to increase the social-security burden leaves the impression that Bulgarian citizens have been misled."    

"The Rumen Radev governance now has at its disposal political resources that have been rarely seen in recent decades. This is a mandate for reforms, not for justifications," Democratic Bulgaria said. It declared itself against "the powerholders stoking up fear among people and businesses in order to justify their incompetence and their own fears".