Prime minister Rumen Radev said the 2027 budget will be presented next week. He spoke at the opening of the Sofia Economic Forum in Sofia.

Bulgaria is still seeing foreign direct investment and industrial exports fall, Radev said.

He put several questions to the forum. How can the state adapt faster and more precisely to geopolitical change? How can Bulgaria and the region find opportunities, how can security be guaranteed, and how can we be stronger and more stable together?

Radev said the geopolitical situation is changing fast and everyone is feeling the effects of deepening crises: military, economic and technological. Without security there is no social development, economy, investment or human capital, he said, so security underpins everything else.

Radev said the war in Ukraine has long been a global clash and a war of attrition, not a conflict between two countries. He said it must not grow into a war of destruction.

Regional cooperation and alliances will matter more and more, the prime minister said.

Bulgaria must find a way to deal faster with its heavy economic and financial legacy, he added.