Bulgaria's real budget deficit for 2025 was 4% of GDP, according to Eurostat figures. That means the state spent that much more than it collected. The effects will also show up in budgets for the coming years, deputy prime minister and finance minister Galab Donev said.
He spoke at the opening of a meeting of the National Council for Tripartite Cooperation, which is discussing proposed changes to tax laws. On 12 October the minister said the draft budgets were in their final stage of preparation and the tax laws would reach the council the following week.
More on this story: Tax laws to be submitted to the tripartite council next week
"The hidden deficit I talked about in the summer is now clear," Donev told BNT. Bulgaria is under the EU's excessive deficit procedure.
When the real state of the finances differs from early estimates, the effects do not stop after one year, the minister explained. He said the state must handle public money responsibly. To make it stable again, he said, the budget needs realistic planning and financial discipline.
The topics at the meeting differ in kind, but the minister said one question links them: how to match people's needs, economic growth and social fairness with the money the state actually has.
Donev said tax policy brings in revenue, but it can also support families and children, encourage responsible behaviour, protect people's health and share the financial burden more fairly.
Donev suggested that, when discussing the changes, MPs and social partners should look not only at their effect on the budget, but also at their aim and what benefit they bring to society and the economy.
The minister said the proposed solutions should strike a sensible and workable balance between stable finances and social responsibility.