Nearly 20% of Households in Bulgaria and Greece Face Winter Without Adequate Heating
Nearly one in five residents in Greece and Bulgaria struggle to keep their homes warm
Bulgaria's Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister, Lyudmila Petkova, confirmed that the draft budget for 2025 will target a deficit of no more than 3% of the country’s GDP. This assurance was made during a meeting with European Commissioner for Economy Paolo Gentiloni ahead of the Eurogroup meeting, according to a statement from the Ministry of Finance.
The discussion also covered the progress of Bulgaria's Recovery Plan, including the government’s proposed amendments and the specifics of the REPowerEU chapter.
Petkova emphasized that the caretaker government will push for the National Assembly to debate and approve these changes, stressing the urgent need to act to prevent the country from losing billions of leva in funding under the plan.
Scope Ratings has completed its latest review of Bulgaria and confirmed the country’s long-term credit rating at A- with a stable outlook, alongside short-term ratings of S-1/Stable
At the turn of the year, Bulgaria is preparing to enter 2026 without an approved state budget
In Bulgaria, the common perception that investing is reserved for the wealthy remains widespread, but recent analysis by Freedom24 shows that households can begin investing with modest amounts of 50–100 BGN (approximately €25–50) per month
The euro has been in use since 1999 as a non-cash accounting unit and since 2002 as physical currency.
Pension insurance contributions will not increase in 2026, while pensions themselves will be updated from 1 July under the Swiss indexation formula, resulting in an expected rise of 7–8%.
The digital euro is a crucial tool for strengthening Europe’s financial and strategic independence and will complement physical cash amid the rapid digitalisation of payments.
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