Balgarianovinite.com President Iliana Iotova announced on Wednesday that she will promulgate the 2026 State Budget Act, arguing that returning it to Parliament would deepen Bulgaria’s financial and institutional uncertainty, while Continue the Change, Democratic Bulgaria, Vazrazhdane and GERB-UDF criticized the decision and raised concerns about the budget’s deficit of 5,7% of GDP, constitutionality, and spending provisions.
Parliament gave its final approval to the budget on July 24. Ahead of Iotova’s announcement, Continue the Change submitted a petition signed by more than 32,000 citizens calling for a presidential veto. The President said that a total of 69 opinions had been received from political parties, trade unions and civil organizations, four of which contained reasoned requests for the Act to be returned to Parliament.
Iotova said that concerns about the size of the deficit, which is … and the amendment of existing legislation through the Budget Act’s transitional and final provisions were understandable. Such legislative changes should normally follow a separate review, public debate and mandatory risk assessment, she said. However, the presidency’s legal team and several constitutional law experts had found no sufficient grounds to regard the contested provisions as unconstitutional. Explaining her decision, she noted that Bulgaria had operated for seven months under an extended 2025 budget prepared in Bulgarian leva, although the country adopted the euro on January 1, 2026. She also referred to the excessive deficit procedure opened by the Council of the European Union on July 10 and to unpaid state obligations exceeding EUR 3 billion. According to the President, returning the act to Parliament would place public finances at greater risk after August 1 and could disrupt the work of municipalities, social payments, healthcare and education. “For me, the budget is not a tool for political maneuvering, elections, personal conflicts, gaining political dividends, or imposing a veto for its own sake,” she said, calling on the institutions to focus on reforms and the preparation of the 2027 budget.
Continue the Change (CC) leader Assen Vassilev said that CC and other parliamentary groups would challenge the act before the Constitutional Court. He accused the presidency of failing to perform its constitutional role and said the contested provisions could harm Bulgarian families and businesses before the Court had an opportunity to rule on them. Vassilev claimed that more than EUR 1 billion intended for municipalities would be distributed at the discretion of a single person and that every Bulgarian citizen would pay EUR 400 by the end of the year, without the budget clearly explaining how most of that amount would be spent. “This is the price of inaction and the lack of a veto by Iliana Iotova,” he said.
Democratic Bulgaria MP Yordan Ivanov argued that the President’s decision showed the consequences of concentrating the presidency, legislature and executive in the hands of one political force. Deputy Floor Leader Bozhidar Bozhanov added that a Constitutional Court challenge would not resolve the immediate problem because the budget would take effect at once, while a ruling might not come before the end of the year. Bozhanov said the longer-term response should be the election of a different president who would provide greater institutional balance and would not enable what the party described as misguided fiscal policy and excessive concentration of power.
Vazrazhdane MP Dimo Drenchev questioned whether the budget could survive constitutional review, noting that the Public Finance Act sets a deficit ceiling of 3%, while the adopted budget exceeds that level. He warned that promulgating the act could create even greater uncertainty if the Constitutional Court later overturned key provisions. Drenchev also criticized planned defence expenditure, including allocations for F-16 aircraft and other military spending that he said lacked sufficient detail. He argued that the 2026 budget largely reproduced the fiscal approach of the previous government and said Vazrazhdane could not support it.
GERB-UDF MP and former finance minister Temenuzhka Petkova said her parliamentary group had prepared a constitutional complaint and was seeking support from other parties. She said the projected deficit of 5.7% of GDP violated the 3% ceiling under the Public Finance Act and was also inconsistent with Bulgaria’s obligations under the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. Petkova said the budget projected EUR 778 million less in revenue and EUR 2.8 billion more in expenditure than the draft prepared by the previous cabinet. GERB-UDF Deputy Floor Leader Denitsa Sacheva also criticized planned increases in motorway vignette fees and social security contributions, as well as changes affecting municipalities and part-time employees. She predicted that public dissatisfaction with the budget would become clearer by the end of August and the beginning of September. President to Promulgate 2026 State Budget as Parliamentary Groups Dispute Its Constitutionality, Prepare Court Challenges 2026 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-07-29 19:48:04 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law
