Bulgaria's 2026 budget faces union veto request and deficit concerns

A trade union coalition called KТ “Подкрепа”, led by Dimitar Manolov, sent a letter to President Iliana Yotova asking her to veto the 2026 state budget. The union argues that recent provisions in the budget amend the Labour Code, reduce recognised seniority and modify the mechanism for calculating the minimum wage, including a freeze of the minimum wage for 2027. It warns that these changes could increase poverty and inequality for hundreds of thousands of Bulgarian workers.

Separately, MP Martin Dimitarov of the Democratic Bulgaria party said the budget should be updated in October to bring the deficit down to about 3 percent, urging the government to avoid large capital‑spending programmes that cannot be efficiently used. He also noted ongoing constitutional‑court questions about the budget and urged a more disciplined fiscal approach.