Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2025 All Rights Reserved

Parliament adopts the 2023 budget at first reading

Photo: БГНЕС

Bulgaria's Parliament approved the 2023 state budget in the first reading with 156 votes in favor. The support came from GERB-SDS, PP-DB and DPS deputies. The "BSP for Bulgaria" and the parties "Wazrazhdane" and "There is Such a People" (ITN) voted against.
"This budget is not revolutionary, it continues the policies and best practices started in the last years. We have managed to maintain a 3 percent deficit for the third year in a row and to adjust spending to existing resources without affecting Bulgarian citizens," Finance Minister Assen Vasilev said.
Despite its support, GERB-SDS said that the budget does not solve a single problem and does not envisage serious reform.
According to BSP Chair Kornelia Ninova, the government's measures hinder the work of small and medium-sized enterprises.
The state plan envisages 69.5 billion leva (35.53 billion euros) in revenue. They are to come from better tax and fee collection by the tax and customs authorities, a 100 percent dividend from state-owned enterprises and economic growth of 1.8 percent. 
Expenditures are to amount to 74 billion leva, while social benefits are to be maintained - an increase in pensions according to the Swiss rule, a minimum wage of 780 leva and a poverty line of 504 leva are planned.



Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

Eurostat: Bulgaria tops EU in house price growth

House prices in the EU rose by 4.9% in the fourth quarter of 2024 compared with the same period in 2023, according to data from the European statistics agency Eurostat .  Bulgaria outpaced all other EU countries in the same quarter, with a remarkable..

published on 4/8/25 6:16 PM

Romanian media: Donald Trump Jr. to visit Sofia

Donald Trump Jr., the eldest son of the US president, is embarking on an Eastern European tour that will include Prague, Bratislava, Budapest, Belgrade, Sofia and Bucharest, Romanian media Digi24 and G4 Media report.  In Bucharest,..

published on 4/8/25 4:24 PM

At a match with a daisy – campaign against aggression in stadiums

The football match should not be a battlefield, but a place where you can take your child – this motive united the organizers of the "At a match with a daisy" campaign. The campaign will take place over four days – from April 11 to..

published on 4/8/25 2:15 PM