The government is making a second clumsy attempt to push through the state budget. These people still have not understood that this approach will not work. They are again trying to deceive us and pull the wool over our eyes by postponing two of the most controversial measures until 2027 – the increase in pension contributions and the rise in dividend tax. But in the meantime they have created a fresh set of scandals. This was stated in a position paper sent to the media by We Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria.
Second version of Budget 2026: Tripartite Council discusses the revised framework
“First, the money for young doctors and nurses has vanished. The €260 million they promised five times — and eventually included in the previous Health Insurance Fund budget under pressure — has now disappeared again. They say there will be €30 million, perhaps through the Ministry of Health, and only for medical trainees. Not a single lev for nurses, not a single lev for everyone else working in the healthcare system.”
“They are once again trying to deceive absolutely everyone, under pressure from — guess who — the private hospitals. There is not a single provision, not even the flawed ones from the previous budget, on minimum salaries for doctors and nurses in the system. Instead, they report €260 million in ‘savings’ in healthcare spending.”
“There are other so-called savings as well — €741 million from the capital expenditure programme. These are roads, rail infrastructure and other projects. It seems that, after we put pressure on them, they decided that these particular piggy banks would not be filled with the said €741 million,” the statement from WCC–DB continues.
“Meanwhile, salaries at the Supreme Judicial Council continue to rise — from 24,000 leva a month to 30,000. No change at all in this budget. Salaries in the courts and the prosecutor’s office — already among the highest in Europe — are rising the most, by almost 14 per cent, compared with 10 per cent for the rest of the administration. Salaries at the Anti-Corruption Commission have been trimmed slightly: the increase will be 42 per cent instead of 52 per cent, as in the previous draft budget. Pay for the rest of the administration has not shifted. The only thing they have done is distribute it marginally more fairly — some progress, perhaps — but the so-called ‘decoupling’ of salaries is not decoupling at all. It merely states that next year the legal rules will not apply, and the year after that we shall see.”
Instead of reducing administrative running costs, they have gone up, WCC–DB says.
“These are the funds for maintenance, electricity, consumables and upkeep of all administrative buildings. They are increasing by 47 million leva on top of the 20 per cent rise in the previous budget. Ministries will have more to spend. Or, put plainly — we will spend 700 million leva more on toilet paper and repairs, but we will not allocate 260 million leva for salaries in healthcare. These are the priorities of this coalition, which is why it must go immediately.”
The changes in projected revenue are “scandalous”, the statement continues.
“Revenue is down because they will not raise social security contributions and there will be no dividend tax next year — only the year after. But because they still cannot balance the books or make sufficient savings, they have conjured up an extra €300 million in revenue from carbon quota sales. When we open the detailed three-year forecast, it is the exact same text as in the previous budget. How this money suddenly appeared — perhaps only Temenuzhka Petkova (Finance Minister) can explain.”
“In short, this budget belongs in the bin, and in many respects is worse than the previous one,” WCC–DB declared, adding:
“It will not work this way, colleagues! Give it up! It is clear you cannot run this country. Resign before Wednesday. Do not force the people on the streets to sweep you out.”
Second Version of 2026 State Budget Draft : Tripartite Council Discusses the Revised Budget Plan
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