The Association of Bulgarian Employers' Organizations (AOBE) and the MPs from "Yes, Bulgaria" Bozhidar Bozanov, Ivaylo Mirchev and Martin Dimitrov discussed the current implementation of the state budget in 2025 and the risks to public finances in the preparation of the 2026 Budget. The upcoming introduction of the euro in Bulgaria and the related challenges for business were also discussed during the conversation.
The nationally representative employer organizations expressed serious concern about the growing budget deficit and state debt, as well as the unbalanced spending policy of the government. The AOBE emphasized the need to consolidate the budget deficit by optimizing public spending, preserving the current tax model, limiting the redistributive role of the state through the state budget, accelerating economic growth and reducing the administrative burden, which most severely affects small and medium-sized enterprises.
Emphasis was also placed on a key risk to public finances: the continued generous public sector income policy and the expanding framework of social spending. The tying of remuneration as a percentage of the average wage leads to automatic and accelerating increases in personnel costs – unrelated to productivity and budget revenues. The result is chronic deficits financed by debt, which could bring the country closer to a collapse in public finances, similar to what happened in Romania and Greece. AOBЕ called for the elimination of automatic formulas that inflate spending.
The participants in the discussion also commented on the need to promote investment in the real economy, as well as real program budgeting, which would ensure the efficiency and transparency of public spending.
Particular attention was paid to the upcoming automatic increase in the minimum wage from 1 January 2026. According to employers' organizations, this approach creates serious economic imbalances, places an additional burden on the budget and contradicts both international conventions and European legislation. This policy, the AOBR pointed out, will have a negative effect on the labor market, especially in industries with low added value, and will hinder new investments.
The AOBЕ emphasized that with strict budget discipline and the upcoming entry of our country into the eurozone, Bulgaria has real potential to attract more investors and achieve higher economic growth in the coming years.
The meeting was attended by Kiril Boshov, Deputy Chairman of the Board of BICA, Dobrin Ivanov, Executive Director of BICA, Stanislav Popdonchev, Deputy Chairman of BIA, Maria Mincheva, Deputy Chairman of BIA, Vasil Todorov, Deputy Chairman of BCCI, Boryana Abadzhieva, Head of the Economic Analysis and Policy Department at BCCI, Boyan Nikolaev, Deputy Executive Director of CEIBG, Rumyana Georgieva - Parliamentary Secretary of CEIBG, Yordan Ginev, Chairman of the Board of AIBEST and Iliya Krastev, Member of the Board of AIBEST.
