Prime minister Rumen Radev told EU commissioner Piotr Serafin that Bulgaria is working to lower its budget deficit in 2027, while taking into account the effects on the social sector and the economy, the government press office said.

Radev and Serafin met ahead of the debates on the EU's Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for 2028-2034. The commissioner is in charge of the budget, the fight against fraud and public administration. Deputy prime minister and finance minister Galab Donev and deputy prime minister Atanas Pekanov also took part.

Bulgaria's priority in the talks is to preserve the potential of the Cohesion Policy and the Common Agricultural Policy. Radev said the stability and competitiveness of the EU itself depend on them.

The prime minister said the new own resources of member states, in their size and scope, directly affect national budgets. He said the approach to them must be weighed with care, and the talks need a thorough assessment of their impact, especially for countries like Bulgaria. In his view, Bulgaria is in excessive deficit.

Radev also said that, with global uncertainty growing, the need for more money for defence should be considered.

In August, six EU countries that pay more into the common budget than they receive asked for cuts of several hundred billion euros in the 2028-2034 long-term budget proposed by the European Commission. All 27 member states must approve the MFF unanimously.