PM Rumen Radev: We Will Present 2027 Budget on Time, with Focus on Wages and Pensions

"The 2027 Budget does not offer easy solutions", Prime Minister Rumen Radev said at the start of today’s government meeting.

Rumen Radev, Prime Minister: “Budget 2027 offers no easy solutions. But we promise something more important. We promise direction. We promise public finances returning to balance, and a state that spends and invests wisely. Above all, we promise a tax system that preserves competitiveness and a country that invests in its most important asset – its people.”

The Council of Ministers will decide to submit the 2027 budget plan to the European Commission and the Eurogroup, in accordance with established procedures, he added.

Rumen Radev, Prime Minister: “We also plan to increase the capacity of our consular services and trade and economic representations abroad, because our businesses need to export and we must support them. We are also prioritising greater safety and better living conditions for the population.”

The Prime Minister said other priorities included improving road safety, acquiring aircraft for firefighting, introducing remote monitoring of dams, and deploying anti-drone systems and air defence systems.

Rumen Radev, Prime Minister: “We are investing in road safety, and we will also acquire new firefighting aircraft. We are also prioritising remote monitoring of dams, as well as anti-drone systems and air defence systems – all the issues you heard discussed today during our peaceful talks in the National Assembly.”

The government also plans to expand the capacity of consular services and trade and economic representations abroad to support Bulgarian businesses and exports.

Budget 2027 focuses on prudent investment, public-private partnerships and preserving tax competitiveness. Rumen Radev outlined an approach under which public funds would be directed towards education, healthcare, culture, sport and security, while private capital would be mobilised for infrastructure.

Rumen Radev, Prime Minister: “An important part of our approach is allocating funding across the various ministries. I would like to thank the ministers for taking an exceptionally innovative and rational approach. We are allocating funds where relatively small amounts can deliver a significant financial return – in terms of state revenue, economic development and benefits to society. Another approach we are adopting, and for which we have drafted a new law, is public-private partnerships. This will allow us to mobilise private capital, particularly for infrastructure, while freeing up public funds for the areas where they are most needed. As I have said, these are education, healthcare, culture, sport and security.”

Radev again stressed that Budget 2027 offered no easy solutions, but promised something more important: direction, public finances returning to balance, a state that spends and invests wisely, a tax system that preserves competitiveness, and a country that invests in its most important asset – its people.

The Prime Minister also said that Budget 2027 included measures to restore the health of public finances, strengthen social support – particularly for families – and provide more funding for key sectors such as education, healthcare and defence. He outlined the state of the public finances and the budget’s main priorities.

Rumen Radev, Prime Minister: “You know very well the state in which we found the public finances: depleted, with an excessive deficit, inherited debts, a neglected Recovery and Resilience Plan, and a series of inherited projects, bills and invoices that we had to pay and are still paying. There were also automatic mechanisms for setting public-sector salaries, alongside rapidly rising social and other expenditure. After careful, precise and demanding work, we took the necessary decisions, and these measures are reflected in Budget 2027. As promised, we will present it on time. The budget also has clear priorities and policies.”

The main priorities include restoring the health of public finances, strengthening social support – especially for families – and providing more funding for critically important sectors such as education, healthcare, sport and culture. They also include the consensus reached by all parliamentary represented parties during today’s hearing in the National Assembly on increasing defence spending, given the complex security environment.

Rumen Radev, Prime Minister: “Budget 2027 envisages curbing expenditure, reducing the deficit and cutting new government borrowing. The measures include streamlining the administration, changes to public-sector pay and reform of the Territorial Expert Medical Commissions system, TELK. We will pursue the restoration of public finances in three main areas: limiting expenditure, reducing the deficit and lowering the nominal amount of newly borrowed debt compared with 2025 and 2026. Measures in these areas include streamlining the administration, abolishing automatic pay-setting mechanisms in the public sector, reducing subsidies for state-owned enterprises and reforming Territorial Expert Medical Commissions.”

The number of people with TELK assessments has already exceeded 880,000 and continues to rise every year, the Prime Minister added, saying that the increase could be described as geometric progression.