The draft Budget 2026 is already being considered in parliamentary committees, but according to former Minister of Economy and PP MP Bogdan Bogdanov, it remains unclear how the state intends to control spending and increase revenues. In the studio of "More from the Day" on BNT he stated that the proposed budget contains a number of unjustified expenses, which in his opinion could lead to a higher deficit and a new increase in the state debt.
According to Bogdanov, the main problem is the sharp increase in capital expenditures:
"We do not see the expenses being controlled. On the contrary - we see a lot of expenses for which there is no explanation for what they will be made. One of the main problems is the significant growth in capital expenditures. Last year we claimed that the planned 8 billion euros would not be fulfilled and this happened - about 6 billion were realized. Now the budget provides for nearly 9.3 billion. We ask what and how these funds will be spent, since there are only five months left until the end of the year, and there are projects without project readiness."
According to him, the budget contains funds for projects that cannot yet be implemented:
"In one of the annexes to the budget, there are nearly 50 million euros for the Ministry of Defense for projects without project readiness. Our question is why funds are being provided that will be covered by new debt for projects that are not ready."
The former minister believes that only by limiting part of the expenses can Bulgaria avoid an excessive deficit procedure:
"The other big problem is the growth of maintenance expenses in the administration. If we limit capital expenses, which will most likely not be implemented, and maintenance expenses, it is absolutely possible to stay within the 3% deficit. This way, we will not be placed under an excessive deficit procedure, which will certainly have a negative effect on Bulgaria's investment potential."
Bogdanov rejected the ruling party's thesis that a large part of the funds were inherited from previous administrations:
"The maintenance and capital expenditures are being set now - by the current administration. They were not set before. The claim that these are unknown expenses is also not true. Deputy Ministers Rositsa Velkova and Lyudmila Petkova were in the Ministry of Finance before, and Mrs. Velkova was responsible for state expenditures. Every single invoice went through them. There is no way they didn't know about these expenses."
He called on all projects that are about to be financed to be explicitly included in the budget:
"If there are important projects, let them be included in the budget and voted on by the National Assembly. The rulers have a majority. Their refusal to do so shows that there will be no transparency in spending."
According to Bogdanov, concerns are not only raised by the size of the new state debt, but also by the lack of clarity about its purpose:
"You can't take on debt before you know what this money will be spent on. Interest rates are already reaching nearly 4.6%. If a few years ago the state was paying about 500 million in interest, now we are talking about doubling this amount. Since all citizens will pay these interests, they have the right to know what the funds will be spent on."
On the topic of the gas contract with "Botas" Bogdanov stated that the announced "freezing" does not solve the problem:
"Every day this contract continues to cost the state about 500 thousand dollars. If the contract is so good, as its defenders claimed, why is it frozen? Why was it not renegotiated? If the situation was so critical then, why was the contract signed for 13 years, and not for two?"
According to him, the high fees make the contract unprofitable, and therefore during the government of the "Denkov" cabinet attempts have been made to renegotiate it:
"The fees we pay are many times higher than those for the Greek connection and the contract with Azerbaijan. That is why we have repeatedly tried to renegotiate the terms with the Turkish side."
Bogdan Bogdanov also commented on the project with the German company "Rheinmetall", emphasizing that he supports such an investment, but insists on complete clarity about its parameters:
"This is an extremely important investment for Bulgaria and a partnership with "Rheinmetall" must be structured in a mutually beneficial manner. What we learned is that around 43 million euros were paid, without knowing on what basis. We do not know the total cost of the project, what exactly will be built and why the amounts are constantly changing."
Bogdanov also stated that the parliamentary group of "Continuing the Change" will insist that all documents on the project be presented to the National Assembly.