Headline: Bulgaria Secures 2024 Budget Deficit Below 3% of GDP
Subhead: Ministry of Finance reports positive outlook despite revenue and expenditure shortfalls
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Article:
Bulgaria’s Ministry of Finance has announced that the country is on track to maintain its budget deficit at 3% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for 2024. According to preliminary data up to December 31, the deficit is projected to reach BGN 6.1 billion, aligning with the target set for membership in the Eurozone.
In a challenging budgetary environment, the finance ministry reports that Bulgaria’s budget position is in line with the initially approved state budget for 2024. Efforts to improve revenue collection and manage expenditure have yielded positive results, the ministry said in a statement.
Revenue projections for the Consolidated Fiscal Program (CFP) in 2024 anticipate around BGN 72 billion, representing 95.6% of annual estimates. Despite this, there is a shortfall in planned revenues, primarily due to lower-than-expected receipts from EU funds, mainly the Recovery and Resilience Plan and operational programs.
Expenditure under the CFP is forecast at BGN 78.1 billion, or 95.8% of annual estimates. The increase in expenditure is primarily driven by higher social spending, including pension payouts following increases in 2023 and 2024, and increased spending on personnel and other administration costs.
Bulgaria’s contribution to the EU budget, paid by the end of 2024, is projected at BGN 1.6 billion.
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