site.btaGERB Leader Sets Red Line at 3% Deficit for 2026 Budget

GERB leader Boyko Borissov said the red line for the 2026 state budget will be a 3% deficit. He told reporters in Parliament on Friday that while there is a risk this limit could be exceeded, efforts will be made to offset any shortfall through increased revenues.

"I learned yesterday that the revenue agencies have collected nearly BGN 7 billion more this year than last," Borissov said. He commented that this demonstrates that the fight against corruption and smuggling is yielding results: "If we continue at this pace, these additional revenues will cover any gaps that might appear in the budget next year."

Borissov recalled that adjustments to the draft budget parameters were made at Thursday's Joint Governance Council. "You can see that in all aspects - wages, pensions - we are moving in the same direction that was set when we were in the [informal] coalition, so no party can say, 'Assen Vassilev raised pensions much, and now they are cutting them'," he said. "We are giving an extra billion leva to pensioners, so we too can look as good and impressive as Assen Vassilev did."

Borissov was referring to the Nikolay Denkov government (June 2023 - March 2024), of which Vassilev was finance minister. That cabinet was based on an agreement between Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB) and GERB-UDF.

Borissov said that the national debt covers what Bulgarian pensioners and working people spend. "All those loans and debts have been accumulating," he commented, recalling his earlier warnings about the country's debt during Assen Vassilev's tenure.

Asked about future debt, he replied: "Of course, we will keep at it. Otherwise, people will say that CC-DB were handing out money to pensioners, the Armed Forces and the public, and then GERB came and offered a meatless pizza, so don't vote GERB. Those tricks will not work."