Zhelyazkov: We will do everything necessary for a consensus budget for 2026

Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov said that the cabinet will make every effort for the budget for 2026 to be agreed with the partners in the government and with the parliamentary majority.

He spoke to journalists in the National Assembly after a meeting of the Joint Governance Council, held in an expanded format.

"We will do everything necessary to have a budget that is as consensual as possible," the prime minister said at a briefing in parliament after the Council meeting.

According to him, a "serious political discussion" was held with the coalition partners regarding the parameters of the financial framework for the next year and possible corrections to it.

Zhelyazkov pointed out that specific changes that the government plans to make have been outlined.

He explained that the state's investment and capital program will be reviewed in detail, with the focus on spending in the defense and transport sectors.

The Prime Minister stressed that in the process of rearranging priorities, the aim will be to optimize spending, without allowing disruptions in key systems and projects.

According to him, an important condition is that all planned funds for the municipalities should be preserved, so that the local authorities can implement the programs that have been started and guarantee the normal functioning of services for the citizens.

"The resource for the municipalities must be preserved and we will strive for this to remain so in the new version of the budget," the Prime Minister emphasized.

Zhelyazkov did not rule out the possibility of the state entering 2026 with an extended budget if the procedures for the adoption of the new financial framework are delayed.

He explained that this scenario is provided for in the legislation and would allow institutions to continue working on the basis of the current spending ceilings until the final budget law for 2026 is approved.

Meanwhile, the Council of Ministers, at a non-attendance meeting, has decided to propose to the National Assembly to withdraw the submitted Draft Law on the state budget for 2026.

With the same decision, the government proposes that the draft laws for the budgets of the National Health Insurance Fund and the state social security for 2026 be withdrawn.

The government press service specifies that the cabinet's decision has already been sent to the National Assembly, which must decide with a separate decision, as the draft budgets have already been adopted on first reading.

The procedural rules provide that after the bill has been voted on first reading, its withdrawal is possible only after a decision by parliament, and not unilaterally by the submitter.

After the expected decision of the National Assembly, the government will have to start a new budget procedure and prepare revised versions of the draft laws for the state budget, for NHIF and for state social security for 2026.

The decision to withdraw the financial laws comes against the background of strong tension around the parameters of budget 2026 and criticism from social partners, local authorities and part of the political forces.