GERB Alerts European Commission over Alleged Attempts by Government to Lower the 2026 Deficit and Increase the 2025 Figure

GERB has alerted the European Commission to alleged manipulation by the government aimed at reducing the budget deficit for 2026 while increasing it for 2025. This was announced in Parliament by GERB MPs Temenuzhka Petkova and Nikolay Nankov.

Temenuzhka Petkova: “We have sent an official report to the European Commission. It concerns the extraordinary audit of the Road Infrastructure Agency (RIA), commissioned by Parliament and carried out by the National Audit Office. Almost a month ago, we informed you of information we had received indicating that certain manipulations involving data and available documents were taking place as part of this extraordinary audit of the RIA.

“What we have since learned is that, following verbal instructions from the Ministry of Finance, documents and certificates are being prepared at the RIA for activities that should be accepted and accounted for in 2026. However, other documents and certificates are being drawn up to transfer these activities to the previous budget year, 2025, even though they should be recorded in 2026. The aim of this exercise is to unlawfully increase the deficit for the past year, 2025, and reduce the deficit for 2026 — the scandalous budget deficit of 5.7% of the country’s gross domestic product.”

Petkova noted that a draft audit report on the RIA had now been prepared.

“You may recall that Minister Shishkov had this information even before the draft audit report on the RIA was ready. He was informed on 9 September during the Regional Development Committee’s question time. We have now learned that the draft audit report on the RIA has been completed, and it makes several things clear.

“It has been submitted both to the current management of the RIA and to all former heads of the agency whose work was subject to scrutiny. According to the information available to us, the National Audit Office’s report shows that the claim made by the ruling 'Progressive Bulgaria' party about invoices being kept in drawers has collapsed, because no such invoices have been found. No such invoices have been issued, and no certificates for completed work have been approved by the Management Board. However, certificates have been found. In practice, this confirms our position and the information we received about the manipulation of data.”

The report to the European Commission was sent yesterday.

“We hope the appropriate measures will be taken,” Petkova stressed.

“The country’s reputation and that of our national and European institutions cannot be sacrificed in pursuit of narrow party interests, simply so that certain people can achieve their own political objectives and justify claims made during the election campaign about a difficult legacy, invoices in drawers and other allegations of that kind. We have therefore informed the Commission. The most important point is that no such invoices exist, and no certificates have been approved by the RIA Management Board.”

Nikolay Nankov: “Even when work for a public organisation is carried out within a given calendar year, its acceptance must be formalised by issuing a certificate. The certificate takes effect in accordance with the contract between the state, the RIA, the National Railway Infrastructure Company (NRIC), the municipality and the contractor.

“The certificate is prepared by the relevant unit and takes effect once, in the case of the RIA, it has been accepted by the Management Board and signed by a person authorised by the Board.

“In this case, the National Audit Office’s report explicitly states that, for the work in question which is to be referred to in a future period, there are no certificates that have been duly issued, signed and approved by the RIA Management Board. As my colleague Petkova has also pointed out, no invoices have been issued, let alone invoices kept in drawers. Those invoices exist in someone’s imagination, but they have no place in the legal world."