Deputy Prime Minister Galab Donev Meets European Commissioner for Budget Piotr Serafin

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Galab Donev met with Piotr Serafin, the European Commissioner for Budget, Anti-Fraud and Public Administration, in Sofia on October 29.

The main topic of the discussion was the negotiation process for the EU’s Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for 2028–2034, with a focus on the revenue side.

During the meeting, Minister Donev noted that, despite the challenges, Europe must not lower its ambitions.

The strength of the EU — and of its most important instrument, the EU budget — lies in its ability to help build a more prosperous and competitive, as well as a more secure, Europe.

Minister Donev emphasised the importance of cohesion policy and the Common Agricultural Policy, not only for convergence, growth and competitiveness, but also for food security across the European Union.

“The growing number and scale of the challenges we face require an adequate and timely response, but this must not come at the expense of policies based on the Treaties. We are striving to reach agreement on appropriate sources of revenue for the EU budget while avoiding placing an additional burden on national budgets,” Minister Donev stressed.

For his part, European Commissioner for Budget, Anti-Fraud and Public Administration Piotr Serafin emphasised the importance of reaching a common agreement on the EU’s Multiannual Financial Framework as soon as possible.

“We are facing an uncertain future, so I hope we can reach a consensus on the Multiannual Financial Framework by the end of the year. We must look at the package of proposals as a whole, and some concessions will also have to be made,” Commissioner Serafin said.

Minister Donev assured the European Commissioner for Budget that Bulgaria would continue working towards the timely adoption of an ambitious, fair and balanced EU budget.