In brief
During an emergency meeting in Sofia, Finance Minister Galab Donev presented Bulgaria’s 2027 budget draft, aimed at restoring fiscal sustainability and preserving income support. The budget projects a 3.5% of GDP deficit, with debt set to reach 31.4% of GDP, while measures to improve revenue collection and curb tax evasion were highlighted. Media sources diverge slightly on the projected deficit, citing figures of 3.5% and 3.4% from BTA and lasicilia.it respectively, reflecting differing interpretations of the draft.
In a high‑profile emergency meeting in Sofia on 12 November 2027, Finance Minister Galab Donev addressed representatives of major employers and trade unions to discuss the government’s draft budget for the 2027‑29 fiscal period. The meeting followed a brief statement by the social partners, who outlined their positions on the national budget and the budgets of the National Health Insurance Fund and Public Social Security.
Donev opened by stressing that the draft budget “provides for measures to improve revenue collection, prevent tax and social security contribution evasion and non‑payment, and reduce the administrative burden and costs for businesses and citizens.” He framed the 2027 budget as a “budget of responsibility” and emphasized the need to meet EU requirements under the Excessive Deficit Procedure. The finance minister highlighted that the medium‑term forecast projects a cash‑basis deficit of 3.5 % of GDP in 2027, narrowing to 3.1 % in 2028 and 2.4 % in 2029. Debt is expected to rise to 31.4 % of GDP, or 44.3 billion euros, with up to 8.6 billion euros of new borrowing available. Total revenue, grants and donations are projected to range between 35.6 % and 36.1 % of GDP over the three‑year period, while consolidated fiscal programme expenditure is projected to fall from 43.5 % in 2026 to 38 % in 2029.
According to BTA, the finance minister also assured participants that the plan would maintain income support, with the minimum monthly wage projected at 660 euros in 2027, and that the medium‑term framework would incorporate corrective measures “to the extent that they can still be implemented this year.”
The coverage from BTA was followed by commentary from the online outlet lasicilia.it, which reiterated many of the same fiscal figures but reported a slightly different deficit projection. The outlet stated that the Budget Law increases the deficit from 2.9 % of GDP in 2026 to 3.4 % in 2027, marking the first rise in four years of deficit reduction. Remaining forecasts for 2028 and 2029 were not detailed in the lasicilia.it report. This divergence in the deficit figure illustrates the varying interpretations of the draft budget’s magnitude.
Both sources agree that the draft budget introduces anti‑tax evasion measures and a reduction in administrative costs. Both also highlight the ongoing EU oversight, noting that the Council has intensified the excessive deficit procedure against Bulgaria. The finance minister underlined that fiscal consolidation requires “efforts from all of us,” presenting the social partners’ engagement as a key element of the strategy.
In addition to fiscal consolidation, the budget preserves support for investments and social security, and according to BTA it aims to maintain a minimum fiscal reserve at the end of 2027 of at least 2.6 billion euros. The projected improvement in revenue collection was framed as a means to offset the gradual deficit reduction, while the proposed anti‑tax evasion measures were positioned as a “realistic” approach to align spending with increased tax income.
While both outlets present the core fiscal parameters, the variance in reported deficit figures underscores the importance of how the budget’s numbers are interpreted. BTA’s 3.5 % figure suggests a slightly larger contraction than the 3.4 % projected by lasicilia.it, yet both maintain the same trajectory of gradual deficit reduction over the medium term. The differing figures also reflect the political sensitivities of fiscal austerity measures, where small numerical deviations can influence public perception and stakeholder confidence.
Overall, the 2027 budget presented at the meeting appears designed to balance fiscal responsibility with the continuity of essential social and economic support. By focusing on revenue improvements, tax enforcement, and administrative cost cuts, the government aims to achieve a 3.5 % deficit while maintaining key income and investment priorities, all under the scrutiny of the EU’s Excessive Deficit Procedure.
