The Budget and Finance Commission of the National Assembly will hold an extraordinary meeting today. At the meeting, scheduled for 14:00, a draft law on amending and supplementing the so-called extension law for the budget will be considered, as stated in the daily published on the parliament's website.
The meeting is convened on Tuesday to allow the draft bill to be considered in plenary session for second reading on Wednesday or Thursday this week, said Delyan Dobrev, chairman of the budget committee, during a break over the weekend, in Haskovo.
A draft law amending and supplementing the Law on Revenue Collection and Expenditures for 2026 until the adoption of the Law on the State Budget of the Republic of Bulgaria for 2026, the Law on the Budget of the State Social Insurance for 2026 and the Law on the Budget of the National Health Insurance Fund for 2026 has been submitted by the caretaker government.
Its main purpose is to extend the validity of the so-called extension law for the budget until the adoption of the regular Law on the State Budget for 2026. This is necessary, as in its current version, the term of validity of the extension law expires at the end of March.
Among other key changes to the law embedded in the draft bill are a mechanism for financing increased expenditures resulting from one-time indexing of salaries in the public sector and the possibility for municipal mayors to finance local activities at amounts greater than the costs for the same period of the previous year, up to the level of the municipality's own revenues for that period.
It also provides the opportunity for the Council of Ministers to conduct negotiations and conclude an agreement with the European Commission on a loan amounting to up to 3.26 billion euros for obtaining financial support in the form of a loan under the instrument "European Security Measures (SAFE) through strengthening European defense industry" subject to subsequent ratification.