Bulgaria’s National Assembly adopted at first reading the 2017 state budget. 102 MPs voted in favor of the budget, 58 were against and 11 MPs (most of them from the Patriotic Front) abstained. The MPs from GERB, the Reformist Bloc, the Bulgarian Democratic Center and Ataka parties voted in favor of next year’s budget. The MPs from the Bulgarian Socialist Party, the Movement for Rights and Freedoms and ABV voted against. Outgoing Minister of Finance Vladislav Goranov said during the budget debates that there wasn't even a singe wrong policy in the 2017 state budget. The 2017 draft budget must be approved, because this is not the budget of the Bulgarian MPs. This budget represents the priorities of the outgoing cabinet, but it is also the budget of the Bulgarian citizens, Vladislav Goranov pointed out.