Sofia's budget has been approved, with an update expected in the fall

The Sofia City Council (SCC) has finally approved Sofia's budget for 2025, ending weeks of drama marked by Mayor Terziev's veto and heated debates. The financial framework was approved with 41 votes in favor, 4 against, and 10 abstentions, but there is already talk of a necessary update in the fall.

During the debates, it became clear that a detailed report on the capital program will be prepared in August-September, which will provide clarity on the effectiveness of the funds spent.

Deputy Mayor for Finance Ivan Vassilev warned that without a clear strategy to increase revenues, there is a risk of a financial deficit in 2026-2027, which would require the adoption of “unpopular measures.”

A few hours earlier, the transport framework was also approved, which provides for an increase of BGN 300 for employees in the capital's motor and electric transport from April 1.

Vassilev announced at a briefing after the vote that the budget amounts to BGN 2.87 billion. All expenses of the Sofia Municipality can now be paid without any problems. However, the budget is not just numbers, but a vision for the development of the city, Vassilev emphasized. This is not the budget that will unlock Sofia's future development, he added.

Among the items that have been dropped from the budget is the extension of Rozhen Boulevard. Funding for the backup left-hand collector in Vladaya has also been reduced, Vassilev announced.

The debates

Unlike the previous vote, GERB was much more restrained in its criticism of Mayor Vasil Terziev. Dimitar Vuchev (GERB) commented that over the past two weeks, a series of talks had been held with political groups to reach a compromise solution.

No one doubts that the budget was not adopted as we intended. Every side was at fault... Better late than never," said Vuchev, acknowledging the difficult process.

According to him, the final version is “a compromise between the mayor's proposals and those of the other groups.”

As a result of these consultations, the revenue side of the budget has been increased by BGN 5.2 million, and a number of capital projects have been reviewed and partially postponed.

Despite the apparent unanimity in the vote, the debates revealed concerns among councilors. The former coalition partners of the PP-DB, Save Sofia, attacked the mayor for not being ambitious enough in his proposals and decisions for the city.

Vanya Grigorova (independent) expressed difficulty in tracking what remains for key sectors such as transport and healthcare, highlighting a lack of transparency. She criticized the allocation of funds for hospitals and medical centers as a “flawed approach.”

Boyko Dimitrov (PP-DB) announced that his group would not support GERB's budget proposal without clearer criteria for capital projects and stated that a vision for the future strategy was needed.

Deputy Mayor for Finance Ivan Vassilev warned of “accumulating current expenses” and “a lack of clarity on projects in the capital program.” He emphasized the need to increase revenue.

Vili Lilkov (KOD) warned that the municipal council was only producing scandals, not policies.

If this continues, in four years' time we will have nothing meaningful to show for ourselves.”

Mayor Vasil Terziev, for his part, stressed that the “mayor is to blame for everything” model is wrong and assured:

We will implement the budget in good faith... We are arguing about how the projects will be financed, not about their meaning.”

We would like to remind you that the budget proposed by the mayor was adopted at the end of May but was radically revised by GERB, BSP, “Save Sofia” and Carlos Contrera from VMRO. Terziev returned the decision on grounds of illegality, as revenues at the time exceeded expenditures by about BGN 3.5 million.

Translated with DeepL.