site.btaDemocratic Bulgaria Calls for Reforms to Keep Deficit at 3%

Everything different from keeping the deficit at 3% this year is an excuse to avoid real reforms and the need to take on more debt, Democratic Bulgaria MP Ivaylo Mirchev told reporters in Parliament on Friday.

Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Rumen Radev said the European Commission would publish a report on June 3, launching an excessive deficit procedure against Bulgaria.

Mirchev said Democratic Bulgaria (DB) had warned as early as 2025 that Bulgaria was likely to enter such a procedure because the budget deficit would exceed 3%. He added that the expectation now was for Progressive Bulgaria to propose a budget that would bring the deficit within that limit.

According to Mirchev, Radev's remarks appeared to justify another year of a deficit above 3% and the accumulation of additional debt instead of implementing reforms and working towards a balanced budget in the coming years.

He also said Progressive Bulgaria had come to power promising reforms in fiscal policy and public administration, but had failed to deliver on those commitments.

DB MP Yordan Ivanov said that the parliamentary group had proposed a package of centre-right measures aimed at preventing an excessive deficit. These include gradually removing pensioners from the Ministry of Interior system, requiring civil servants to pay their own social security contributions, and introducing electronic government while restructuring what he described as an oversized public administration.

“We do not accept the argument that Bulgaria needs to take on more debt,” Ivanov said.

Mirchev added that the proposed measures could be incorporated into the budget and implemented during 2026.