GERB-SDS will not back the government's proposed minimum wage of €660 a month from 1 January 2027. Party MPs told reporters in the parliament lobby. Iliana Zhekova said it is unclear how the figure was worked out.

This story follows our earlier report on the 2027 minimum wage. Labour and social policy minister Natalia Efremova told Bulgarian National Radio then that the ministry would press for a figure close to €672.80.

The text of the draft Council of Ministers decree is on the public consultation portal. One of the trade unions does not back it either.

Zhekova asked why €660 was chosen and not €672, which she said was the upper limit for the minimum wage. She recalled that GERB-SDS voiced doubts about the mechanism when the changes to the Labour Code were first tabled.

Galya Vasileva said the party had warned many times, in the plenary hall and in committee, that the mechanism was unclear. She said this did not mean defending the current automatic system. GERB-SDS had called for more specific wording, she said. According to Vasileva, if employers and unions fail to agree, the current text leaves the decision to the Council of Ministers alone.

Temenuzhka Petkova said GERB-SDS, as a right-wing conservative party, sees the current automatic system as harmful to Bulgarian business and agrees it should go. But it has doubts about the mechanism proposed by Progressive Bulgaria. She said the party had urged the ruling parties to listen, but this had not happened, and there is tension. Petkova said that if the talks between employers, unions and the government produce no agreement, the decision rests entirely with the ruling parties, and they will set a wage that suits them.

Petkova also commented on the budget framework the government sends today to the European Commission. Asked what deficit the cabinet would set, she replied: "I am surprised that in this situation the government has not informed the National Assembly, or at least the Finance Committee, about the budget framework it is sending to the European Commission today."

Because Bulgaria is under the excessive deficit procedure, Petkova said, MPs should have been shown the main parameters. The party expects to hear them from the European Commission.

Petkova noted that the government says it intends to cut the deficit, debt and spending, but nobody says how or by how much.

She said the windfall profit tax is definitely going ahead and is a serious problem for business, because it will hit profitable and well-run companies. According to Petkova, the tax assessments of buildings will rise, and this will automatically lead to a higher property tax.