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 government debt decreased to EUR 12.31 B in nominal terms last month, slightly down from EUR 12.25 B at end-April, Finance Ministry data showed on Wednesday.
External debt was EUR 7.92 B at the end of May, unchanged from April, while domestic debt increased to 4.39 B, up from EUR 4.33 B.
Debt-to-GDP ratio was 28.8% at end-May, little changed from 28.7% a month earlier. Domestic debt-to-GDP ratio was 10.3% and foreign debt-to-GDP ratio was 18.5% at the end of May.
Over 78% of Bulgaria’s government debt was denominated in euro, while lev-denominated debt was just below 21% of total debt at the end of May.
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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