Employers slam 2026 budget as unrealistic and populist

Bulgarian business groups delivered harsh criticism of the government’s 2026 spending plan during a television appearance on Tuesday, with employer association leaders calling the proposal systematically flawed rather than merely deficient in technical details. Rumen Radev, who chairs both the rotating employer council and the industrial capital association, told viewers that officials provided budget figures at the final possible moment while scheduling consultations with impossibly tight timelines. Employers requested discussions as early as September but received no meaningful response, he said.

National debt will climb from 24.2 billion euros in 2024 to a projected 37.6 billion euros next year under the plan, representing growth from 23 percent to 31.3 percent of economic output. The budget authorizes borrowing up to 10.5 billion euros despite the country already securing 5.2 billion euros through the first half of this year. Radev characterized revenue projections as unrealistic, noting value-added tax collections would need to jump by 4 billion euros above current performance. Even the tax collection agency director expressed doubt about achieving such targets, he added.

Former welfare official Hristina Hristova acknowledged some merit in education funding increases and municipal infrastructure investments but questioned whether routing payments through the development bank masks true deficit levels.