Bulgaria’s 2026 budget slammed as pro-inflation failure

Bulgaria’s financial experts criticized the government’s 2026 budget framework after parameters appeared on Monday evening, saying the spending plan lacks reform objectives and will accelerate inflation rather than control it.

Financier Levon Hampartzumyan compared the proposal to attempting to extinguish flames using gasoline, noting that salary increases tied to minimum wage adjustments will push prices higher. He said corporate budgets come with clear targets and accountability, but government officials have not explained what the spending plan aims to accomplish or why specific compromises were necessary. Nikola Filipov, another financial analyst who appeared on a morning television program, said the framework mirrors previous years and represents continued movement toward populist policies. He argued that only governments lacking strength refuse to pause social spending while implementing deficit-reduction measures.

Filipov warned that raising pension contributions by two percentage points merely applies temporary fixes to structural problems. Hampartzumyan said sustained use of such tactics could end disastrously, pointing to fiscal crises that struck Cyprus, Greece and Romania. He added that nobody evaluates whether public money achieves measurable results. Both analysts expressed concern that Bulgaria faces a limited time to address spending imbalances before serious economic consequences arrive.