site.btaUPDATED Parliament Passes on Second Reading Texts of 2024 State Budget Bill

At its sitting on Wednesday, the National Assembly passed on second reading texts of the 2024 State Budget Bill.

The Ministry of Health's budget envisages revenues of BGN 39,285,000 and expenditures of BGN 1,058,723,000, with BGN 514,628,600 set aside for personnel. The budget also provides for a fee to municipal and health care institutions, commercial companies, as well as to those with mixed state and municipal participation, funds under the Revolving Investment Fund for the purchase in 2024 of medical equipment and other fixed assets based on concluded contracts for reimbursement of the provided amounts in monthly installments. The funds provided are up to the amount of recovered and unspent funds from previous years and the current recovered funds in 2024, Parliament decided.

The Ministry of Education and Science earmarks for calculated income, aid and donations the amount of BGN 9,300,000, and BGN 1,133,225,200 for expenditures. Transfers from the budget of the Ministry of Education and Science for the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and higher state schools total BGN 979,079,000. In the budget for universities, the funds for personnel are BGN 142,460,500.

The Ministry of Labour and Social Policy will get BGN 47,000,000 in revenues, aid and donations, and expenditures of BGN 2,862,221,000.

The budget for culture envisages revenues, aid and donations in the amount of BGN 48 million. The expenditures are set at BGN 403,350,500. Budget relations and transfers have been calculated in the amount of BGN 355,350,500. Funds in the amount of BGN 27,790,200 have been earmarked for policy in the field of preservation of movable and immovable cultural heritage. A total of BGN 370,687 million are envisaged for policies in the field of creation and popularization of contemporary art in the country and abroad and access to quality art education.

Deputies passed without discussion and debate the budgets of the Ministry of Environment and Water, the Ministry of Economy and Industry, the Ministry of Innovation and Growth, the Ministry of Energy, the Ministry of Tourism, the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works.

The expenditures for the Ministry of Transport is nearly BGN 700 000 000. The subsidies for BDZ-Passenger Transport Ltd. are BGN 209,890,000 and for the National Railway Infrastructure Company, BGN 301,230,000. 

The Ministry of Youth and Sports will have expenditures totalling BGN 137,444,400.

The deputies argued about the salaries of the employees of the National Statistical Institute (NSI). Staff costs for next year are estimated at BGN 23,778,100. Vazrazhdane demanded about BGN 30 million more for salaries, but the majority rejected the proposal.

Parliament also approved the money for the National Service for Protection, where personnel costs are set at BGN 59,312,400, and for the State Intelligence Agency, where the expenditures are set at BGN 49,467,000.

The MPs also voted on the budgets of the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA), the Bulgarian National Television, and the Bulgarian National Radio. Next year, BTA will be provided with BGN 11,856,500, the Bulgarian National Television with BGN 86,980,600, and the Bulgarian National Radio with 62,974,400.