After 18 hours of debate, MPs approve state budget on first reading

After a session that lasted about 18 hours, shortly before 03:00 this morning, the parliament adopted the draft law on the state budget for 2025 on first reading with 152 votes "for", 73 "against" and no abstentions. It was supported by GERB-SDF, "DPS-New Beginning", "BSP-United Left", "Democracy, Rights and Freedoms"-DPS and "There is such a people". "We continue the change-Democratic Bulgaria", "Vazrazhdane" and "Moral, Unity, Honor" (MECH) were against, BTA reported.

The draft state budget, including a draft budget for the judiciary, proposed by the Supreme Judicial Council, was rejected.

The deadline for proposals between th first and second reading of the adopted bill will be five days, the deputies also decided.

The debate in the plenary hall continued for more than four hours. Minister of Finance Temenuzhka Petkova presented the draft budget to the deputies and noted that they had proposed a posible budget.

 During the discussion, the current Minister Temenuzhka Petkova and former Minister of Finance Assen Vassilev got into an argument over the parameters of the draft state budget.

The chairman of the parliamentary group of the "BSP-United Left" Dragomir Stoynev said that they would support the draft republican budget for 2025 submitted by the government. This support is categorical and unambiguous, because this budget is a very important step towards getting the country out of the severe fiscal crisis caused by a series of failed elections and chaotic caretaker governments, he pointed out. The proposed budget balances all sectors of state government within the limits of the possible, ensures minimal but significant economic growth, stabilizes the incomes of the population, without causing major inflation, said Stoynev. According to him, the submitted project is also an important step towards political stabilization of the state. The negotiations in the Joint Management Council (JMC) were not easy - quite the opposite, and this is particularly evident in the discussion on pensions, commented Dragomir Stoynev. He called on the opposition to vote for this budget, because the compromises reached on the deficit, expenses and income are largely their positions.

Martin Dimitrov from the PG "Continuing Change - Democratic Bulgaria" pointed out that the budget can be defined as anti-reform. There are several significant problems that are a brake on our development, among which is the record growth in expenses - about 26 billion leva. additional, which the government will spend, he emphasized. We are talking about 19 billion leva. expenses through the budget and 7 billion leva, which will be taken in the form of debt and will go to finance state-owned companies and the Bulgarian Development Bank, and which will be spent uncontrollably. A blow to small businesses, according to Martin Dimitrov, is the increase in the maximum social security threshold. At the same time, reforms are completely absent, he reported. According to PP-DB, the revenue part is seriously overestimated, which will lead to an update of the budget. This is a budget of the largest spending in recent Bulgarian history, concluded Martin Dimitrov.

Hasan Ademov from the parliamentary group "Democracy, Rights and Freedoms"-DPS indicated that they will support the state budget bill. He commented that this year the definition "the possible budget" has acquired citizenship, but their group's desire is to upgrade and define it as "a budget that marks the beginning of the restoration of financial stability". These nearly 1.6 billion leva for municipalities are insufficient, but they are an important step for the development of municipal infrastructure, Ademov pointed out. For our parliamentary group, along with the income policy, together with pensions, it is particularly important that the municipal investment program be implemented in conditions of equality, transparency and strict control in the selection of municipalities approved for financing according to clear, objective and fair rules, he stated.

Hasan Ademov commented that a part of the opposition, which declared itself to be the only opposition that wante early elections now and immediately, has strangely and incomprehensibly turned its position 180 degrees. In his words, fierce critics have changed and have offered unsolicited support for the budget. I do not know what the price of the surprising support of a part of the opposition is, but we will monitor carefully whether this is not an attempt to trade in influence and product positioning through the budget, he noted.

"DPS-New Beginning" will support the state budget at first reading, Elvan Gyurkas said, but expressed concern about the financing of municipalities. There will be serious challenges in terms of revenues, although it must be taken into account that there will be no increase in taxes, but an increase in social security contributions is planned until 2028. The planned actions in the field of fuels to reduce the possibilities of fraud in cash receipts deserve support, the MP said. "DPS-New Beginning" announced a zero VAT rate for bread. There should be no opposition between some groups working against others in increasing incomes, emphasized Gyurkas. It is time for greater efficiency of spending, at the same time for measures for sustainable fiscal consolidation, she believes.

Alexander Koychev ("Vazrazhdane") warned that we risk entering a debt spiral. No efforts are being made to optimize the state administration, the growth of VAT is greatly overestimated at low inflation, and the reduction of the threshold for VAT registration to 100,000 leva hits small businesses, he explained. "Vazrazhdane" also believes that the rate for bread should be zero. His colleague Tsoncho Ganev commented that we have a "compromise budget" for consideration at first reading. "Vazrazhdane" leader Kostadin Kostadinov objected that this is not a compromise budget, this budget is fake, with extremely inflated revenue data, with a huge external debt of nearly 20 billion. lv. This is a budget that is burying Bulgaria, this is a budget that is the budget of death, he said.

Lyuben Dilov (GERB-SDF) commented that after order in the chaos that this government imposes, it is time for order in the budget. The only thing we can regret is that the time in which it had to be prepared was short and there was no time to analyze what worked in 2024, he pointed out. The culture budget can be defined as a triangular blanket - no matter how you twist it, something will still be exposed, commented Dilov. According to him, there are reservations regarding the National Culture Fund and the National Film Center. He pointed out that their "fine adjustments" between the first and second reading will be in better securing the future archaeological program in 2025. Museums and galleries are on the existential edge, they plead for an increase in the number of subsidized and, if we can somehow help them, that would be very good, Dilov added.

After the vote on the budget in justification of a different vote, the chairman of the MECH parliamentary group Kiril Veselinski commented that everyone today saw that political hypocrisy and easy craft. MECH voted against because this is an anti-social, anti-human and anti-Bulgarian budget, he added, while the deputies were already leaving. Despite the empty hall, let the Bulgarian citizens see the respect of the omerta, which gathered and voted together with Peevski's "DPS-New Beginning", pointed out Veselinski. In his words, this is yet another proof that Peevski is everywhere around this cabinet.

Minutes before 3:00 in the morning, the parliament session was suspended. It lasted nearly 18 hours. The next session is today at 11:00, the deputies decided.