The Bulgarian government has made the rare move to withdraw its controversial 2026 draft budget in response to the mass protests that were witnessed across major Bulgarian cities. The Bulgarian Cabinet made this announcement through its press office, stating that the draft financial plans of various Bulgarian state institutions would be withdrawn in their entirety due to mass protests across the country.
Massive protests force the government’s hand across multiple cities
The protests come after mass gatherings erupted across the country Monday evening in protest of the proposed budget, in particular targeting the escalation in taxes and social contributions in the private sector. Sofia had tens of thousands of participants, while other larger cities such as Varna, Plovdiv, Burgas, Stara Zagora, Dobrich, Sliven, Veliko Tarnovo, Shumen, Ruse, Lovech, Blagoevgrad, and Gotse Delchev also held mass gatherings. The magnitude of the gatherings forms one of the biggest demonstrations witnessed in recent years.
The proposal from the Council of Ministers dealt with the resolution from the National Assembly regarding the withdrawal of the draft Law on the State Budget of 2026. This resolution was passed in the absence of the meeting of the government and involves the withdrawal of other draft laws regarding the budgets of National Health Insurance Funds and the State Social Insurance. This has been referred to the parliament, after which the process of preparing the budget will begin again.
Academician Nikolai Denkov from the opposition party WCC-DB pointed out that the society had demanded the resignation of the entire government during the protests and that the opposition had no other choice but to react in this way. The protests started out with demands regarding the budget, but later developed further and now include demands regarding the entire budget revision, with the insistence of the opposition WCC-DB that the entire government should resign.
Finance minister arranges meetings with stakeholders
Finance Minister Temenuzhka Petkova declared meetings with unions and employers in order to adapt the budget in the next year with respect to the decision to withdraw the 2026 budget draft by the government. The immediate withdrawal of the 2026 draft budget by the government indicates a clear reaction to social pressure, while the approval by the National Assembly of the measure would open the way towards preparing a new financial plan.
“The protests drew attention to the dissatisfaction with the fiscal policies, emphasizing the tensions between sector contributions and allocation priorities.”
The protests have emphasized widespread dissatisfaction with fiscal policies, underlining tensions between sector contributions and the allocation priorities of the state. The withdrawal of the government is essentially meant to assuage widespread unrest and allow for further consultations regarding an acceptable budget for the year 2026. The original budget would have yielded substantial additional revenue from taxes and social contributions in the private sector; however, with the withdrawal, all financial data would be open to revision.
Political crisis intensifies with the prospect of entry into the eurozone imminent
This fiscal crisis in Bulgaria comes ahead of the country’s entry into the euro zone next year. GERB party leader Boyko Borissov appealed to the country’s government to open talks with employers and trade unions in an attempt to reach a consensus regarding finances in the country. This fiscal crisis in Bulgaria comes at such a bad time, when the country plans to join the eurozone next year.
The Bulgarian budget retreat illustrates the effectiveness of continuous pressure from society in democratic states in encouraging governments to rethink unpopular decisions. The mass protest actions were able to force politicians to retreat from unpopular fiscal policies, although the overall political turmoil persists. Currently, with Bulgaria’s membership in the euro zone imminent, the Bulgarian politicians’ key dilemma emerges in balancing the approval of fiscal policies with preserving stability in the economy during this abnormal period.
