Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2025 All Rights Reserved

Assen Vassilev: No low wage ghettos in Bulgaria

Minister Vassilev
Photo: BGNES

BGN 933 (EUR 477.04) is the minimum wage in Bulgaria, said Minister of Finance Assen Vassilev at the meeting of the National Council for Tripartite Cooperation. According to him, Bulgaria is at the bottom of the Balkans in terms of the minimum wage, reports BNT.

In Montenegro, the minimum wage is 532 euro this year, in North Macedonia it is already 483 euro and in Serbia it is 547 euro, Vassilev said. "We have an obligation not to allow the formation of ghettos with low wages, low quality of work and abandoned regions. This happens in developed countries when there is a scissors effect," the minister said. He said the budget should lead to a permanent increase in pensions without changing tax rates. The projected deficit is 3% according to the Maastricht criteria for joining the eurozone. 

During the discussions, the tripartite partners did not reach an agreement on the budgets of the National Health Insurance Fund and the State Social Insurance Fund, BNR reporter Marta Mladenova said.

Unanimity was not reached on the state budget for 2024. Finance Minister Assen Vassilev said that the goal was to have the budget finally adopted by December 22, BNT reported.





Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

"Yes, Bulgaria" political party defines Budget 2026 as an "economic tsunami"

"Yes, Bulgaria" party (part of "Democratic Bulgaria") have defined the budget for next year as an "economic tsunami". MP Ivaylo Mirchev was firm that the pary will oppose it when the project comes up for discussion in parliament.  "Yesterday we were..

published on 11/4/25 3:33 PM

President Radev presents national flag to the 34th Bulgarian Antarctic expedition

Bulgarian President Rumen Radev has presented the national flag to the participants in the 34th Bulgarian Antarctic Expedition. At a ceremony in the Hall of Arms, the flag was accepted by the head and doyen of Bulgarian research in the White Continent,..

published on 11/4/25 1:24 PM
Christine Lagarde

Christine Lagarde: Joining the eurozone is just the beginning

The euro will help, but it does not on its own guarantee higher standards of living, said Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, at the high-level conference in Sofia titled ''Bulgaria on the Doorstep of the..

published on 11/4/25 11:40 AM