site.btaParliament Passes 2025 State Budget Bill on First Reading

In the early hours of Thursday, Bulgaria's Parliament voted, 152-73 with no abstentions, to adopt the 2025 State Budget Bill on first reading. The votes in favour came from GERB-UDF, Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) - New Beginning, BSP - United Left, Democracy, Rights and Freedoms - DRF, and There Is Such a People. The legislation was opposed by Continue the Change -Democratic Bulgaria, Vazrazhdane, and Morality, Unity, Honour (MECh).

Motions for modifications of the bill may be entered within five days before its second reading debate, the MPs also resolved.

The plenary debate took more than four hours. Finance Minister Temenuzhka Petkova presented the draft budget to the lawmakers.