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Bulgaria's Constitutional Court Accepts Budget 2026 Complaints
The Constitutional Court of Bulgaria admitted for substantive review three complaints lodged by the GERB‑SDS coalition and the "Continue the Change" (PP) party against the 2026 state budget. Because the cases share the same subject, the Court merged them into a single proceeding numbered 15/2026, with a unanimous decision by all twelve judges. A separate complaint by PP also challenges article 113a of the Health Law.
Social affairs minister Nataliya Efremova said she sees no problem with the budget texts and trusts the Court to rule correctly. She noted the 2026 budget projects a 5.7% deficit and a 3% debt level, and expects extra revenue of about €130 million from raising minimum and maximum social‑insurance thresholds by year‑end. Court chair Paviina Panova warned that a severe cut to any institutional budget could justify a constitutional declaration of unconstitutionality.
Entities
Constitutional Court of Bulgaria · Continue the Change · GERB‑SDS · GERB–SDS · Nataliya Efremova · Pavlina Panova
Claims
What the coverage asserts, and how many sources carry each claim.
- [○ 1 SOURCE] The Court combined the two cases into a single proceeding numbered 15/2026. telegraph.bg
- [● 2 SOURCES] Additional revenue of about €130 million is expected from raising minimum and maximum social‑insurance thresholds by the end of the year. www.ruse24.bg · petel.bg
- [○ 1 SOURCE] The 2026 state budget projects a deficit of 5.7% and a debt level of 3% of GDP. defakto.bg
- [○ 1 SOURCE] All twelve constitutional judges voted unanimously to admit the cases. telegraph.bg
- [○ 1 SOURCE] Constitutional Court chair Paviina Panova warned that a severe reduction of a budget could be grounds for declaring part of the budget unconstitutional. telegraph.bg
- [○ 1 SOURCE] A separate complaint by Continue the Change challenges article 113a of the Health Law. defakto.bg
- [● 2 SOURCES] Social affairs minister Nataliya Efremova said she sees no problem with the 2026 budget texts and trusts the Constitutional Court to rule correctly. www.ruse24.bg · petel.bg
- [● 2 SOURCES] The Constitutional Court of Bulgaria admitted for substantive review three complaints from GERB and Continue the Change against the 2026 state budget. defakto.bg · telegraph.bg