Bulgaria will change its public finance law to match the EU's reformed economic rules. The government approved a draft of the changes, its press office said.

The draft adds a new key indicator, the growth of net primary spending, which will guide fiscal policy in the short and medium term. The text also notes that Bulgaria has been in the eurozone since 1 January 2026.

The rules in question come from the Stability and Growth Pact. The reformed rules rest on regulations and directives that came into force on 30 April 2024 and cover the budget frameworks of EU member states.

The press office said the reform does not change the allowed levels of deficit and debt. The reference values stay at 3% of GDP for the general government deficit and 60% of GDP for debt. What is new is that, when setting what each country must do to correct its position, member states are treated differently depending on their government debt and their economic problems. The framework is meant to support sound public finances, along with reforms and investment for sustainable and inclusive growth in member states and in the EU.

The European Commission requires two new documents, and the draft writes them into law: a National Medium-Term Fiscal-Structural Plan and an Annual Progress Report. They replace the National Reform Programme and the Convergence Programme.

The draft also sets common rules for monitoring and assessing draft budget plans, and a guarantee that excessive deficits in eurozone countries will be corrected. It clarifies the rules on managing debt, and on what budget documents must contain and when they are due. It also adds clear rules for assessing public investment in advance and ranking projects by priority when the money comes from national funds.

In mid-October, the finance ministry sent Bulgaria's Draft Budgetary Plan for 2027 to the European Commission and the Eurogroup. The plan puts the general government deficit at 4.3% of GDP, with steps to raise revenue and curb spending.

It is the first budget plan Bulgaria has drawn up and submitted as a full member of the eurozone. It brings the country into the regular procedures for monitoring and coordinating the economic policies of eurozone states, BTA reported.

The steps in the plan aim to end the excessive deficit procedure by 2029.