The parliamentary committee on constitutional and legal affairs approved on first reading the draft law on the state budget of Bulgaria for 2026, submitted by the Council of Ministers on December 8, 2025.
The draft law was adopted with 12 votes "for", seven "against" and not a single "abstention".
The main parameters of the draft budget for 2026 are as follows: revenues - 37 million and 75 thousand euros, expenditures - 390 million and 566 thousand euros, which represents a change compared to the approved expenditures with the law on the state budget of Bulgaria for 2025 with a total of 36 million and 609 thousand euros. This includes an increase in personnel costs by 34 million and 56 thousand euros, an increase in maintenance costs by 5 million and 240 thousand euros, and a decrease in capital expenditures by two million and 688 thousand euros, announced the deputy chairman of the committee, Stoyu Stoev.
In the draft budget for 2026, compared to the expenditures in the budget of the Ministry of Justice under the Law on the State Budget of Bulgaria for 2025, the following additional expenditures are provided - an increase in personnel costs by 10% for the structures for which no other increases are provided - 29 million and 220 thousand euros. Indexations of the remuneration of chief inspectors, of the inspectors to the Minister of Justice in the amount of 62,600 euros, expenses for the indexation of the chairman and the deputy chairman of the National Legal Aid Bureau in the amount of 12,800 euros, expenses for the indexation of the remuneration of the officials in the Registry Agency in the amount of 616,900 euros, Stoev also noted.
The increase in employer's social security contributions, due to the rise in the maximum insurance income, a new amount of the maximum insurance income has been determined from January 1, 2026 in the amount of 2,300 euros, or a total of two million and 685 thousand euros.
An increase in personnel costs is forthcoming, in connection with the planned increase in the amount of the minimum wage, which from January 1, 2026 becomes 620 euros, with the amount being 714,000 euros.
An increase in the staff headcount of 11 in the central administration of the Ministry of Justice - 743,200 euros, and an increase in the expenses for lawyers' fees in the National Legal Aid Bureau - 2 million and 694 thousand euros are also planned.
The maintenance costs for the General Directorate "Execution of Penalties" are also increased by two million and 546 thousand euros.
"We will not support the budget as presented. I also express my indignation that representatives of the judiciary cannot be here to defend the parameters they have stated. In addition, no reforms are proposed," said Nadezhda Yordanova from the political group of "We Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria" (WCC-DB).