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

Former finance minister says there were errors in draft budget, worth billions

Photo: BGNES

Co-chairman of "We Continue the Change" party and former Minister of Finance, Assen Vassilev, said that there were two errors in the draft budget for 2023 presented by the caretaker government.

In a video on his Facebook page, Vassilev says: "The first is that under the Recovery and Sustainability Plan, all expenses are set to be fully made, while 0% of the revenues are envisaged. This is about 1 billion and 440 million euros. The second mistake is that the budget does not envisage collecting 100% dividend from the state-owned enterprises. This is an error costing 865 million euros. Just by correcting these two errors, the budget deficit would decrease by more than 2.25 billion and would fall to 3.6%", Vassilev commented.

The MP expressed hope that during the plenary discussions of the budget, the deficit would be reduced to 3%.

Translation: Al. Markov



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

Bulgaria's first state budget in euros – between two readings in the National Assembly and a wave of dissatisfaction

The draft state budget was adopted in first reading by the National Assembly on November 21. However, the planned changes in the financial framework for 2026 triggered an open clash between the ruling coalition, led by GERB party, and the opposition..

published on 11/24/25 2:25 PM

KBC Group raises its forecast for Bulgaria's economic growth in 2026

KBC Group expects the Bulgarian economy to grow slightly more next year in comparison to its previous forecasts, according to the conclusions of the Belgian financial group's latest assessments of the economies of Central and Eastern..

published on 11/20/25 8:50 AM

BNB: Bulgaria posts strong FDI inflows from Netherlands, Italy, Greece; outflows led by U.S.

Foreign direct investment (FDI)  in Bulgaria posted the largest net inflows from the Netherlands, Italy and Greece in the first half of 2025, the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) said. Net FDI inflows totalled €554.9 million from the Netherlands, €325.2..

published on 11/19/25 5:41 PM