In December this year the Ministry of Finance will have covered the last of the criteria for accession to the Eurozone – inflation, said caretaker Deputy PM and Minister of Finance Lyudmila Petkova. Two weeks after fulfilling it, Bulgaria will ask for a new assessment, she added.

At a briefing, Minister Petkova presented the results of an analysis of the public revenues and expenditures for the 2022-2044 period, which indicates that expenditures outpace revenues.

Lyudmila Petkova also announced that at the Consultative Council on National Security, convened by the president, the question was raised of defence spending reaching 2.5% of the Gross Domestic Product of the country. However, she declined to comment on the working parameters of the budget for next year so as to prevent any speculation regarding the budget.