Bulgarian government pulls budget amid fierce protests | Protests News

Protesters argue that the draft budget will increase taxes and inflation with lower payments, while encouraging corruption.

Bulgaria’s government has announced plans to abandon a controversial budget proposal that sparked nationwide protests, the latest round of unrest in the country as it moves toward euro adoption.

The government information service reported on Tuesday that it had asked parliament to withdraw the 2026 budget – which sparked public anger over planned tax rises and higher social security contributions.

The budget dispute adds to years of political instability in Bulgaria, which has gone through seven snap elections and a succession of short-lived governments since mass anti-corruption protests in 2020. The country is badly divided over entry into the Eurozone and its broader geopolitical alignment between Russia and the European Union, of which it is a member state.

‘Don’t let yourself be robbed’

Critics of the latest budget proposal, which is the first to be calculated in euros, argued that it would not only hurt the economy but also funnel more money into state institutions they consider corrupt. According to anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International, Bulgaria is ranked as the most corrupt country in the European Union.

“We are here to protest for our future. We want to be a European country, not a country ruled by corruption and the mafia,” Ventislava Vassileva, a 21-year-old student who took part in the protest, told news agency Agence France-Presse.

The government initially promised to withdraw and make changes to the budget proposal following protests last week, but later backtracked, sparking another round of protests in major cities on Monday night. Organizers said 50,000 people took part in a youth-led protest in the capital Sofia.

Chanting slogans such as “We will not allow ourselves to be lied to; we will not allow ourselves to be looted” and “Resign”, the protesters demanded that the government revise the draft budget or step down. Slogans displayed in front of the parliament read “Generation Z is coming” and “Young Bulgaria without the mafia”.

Organizers had urged protesters to keep the rallies peaceful, but violent clashes broke out between a small group of protesters and police. Protesters threw rocks and firecrackers at police guarding the offices of the main ruling parties and damaged police cars, with officers in riot gear pepper spraying protesters.

Several people were hospitalized with injuries, while police said they had detained 10 people.

Opponents of the abandoned budget argued that the plan to increase spending would have faced higher taxes on businesses and workers as well as a sharp increase in the public debt. He said this would lead to inflation without improving the efficiency of public services.

However, the government claimed that the plan was necessary to meet the eurozone requirement for a budget deficit of less than 3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP).

Nearly half of Bulgarians oppose adopting the euro, fearing it would impinge on the country’s sovereignty and that retailers would take advantage of the shift from the national currency, the lev, to the euro, to raise prices.

The state-owned Bulgarian News Agency reported that the cabinet will begin the process of developing a new budget after parliament formally agreed to withdraw the previous bill.