03.07.2017

The preliminary data and estimates expect for the Consolidated Fiscal Programme (CFP) balance on a cash basis for the first six months of 2017 to be positive, amounting to BGN 1,744.4 million (1.8 % of the projected GDP). The national budget balance reports an improvement in structural terms as compared to the first six months of 2016 mainly due to the growth of tax and social security and health insurance contributions, while the balance of EU fund accounts has deteriorated this year due to a baseline effect in 2016 related to the EU grants reimbursed at the beginning of 2016 for expenditures incurred at the end of 2015, being the peak of EU project payments under the previous 2007 - 2013 programming period.

Key CFP parameters based on preliminary data and estimates:

As of June 2017, CFP revenues and grants are expected to be BGN 17,483.9 million, or 49.3% of the annual estimates. The performance of tax and non-tax revenues is expected to be 51.3% of the estimates for the year, which is a growth by BGN 1,035.2 million, or by 6.6% as against the same period of the previous year. Grant revenues are lower than the first six months of 2016, with execution expected to be 25.4% compared to the 2017 annual estimates.  

The Consolidated Fiscal Programme expenditures, including the contribution of the Republic of Bulgaria to the EU budget, are expected to amount to BGN 15,739.5 million, as of June 2017, which accounts for 42.8% of the annual estimates. The expenditures for the same period of last year amount to BGN 14,638.7 million. The increasing expenditures as against the same period of the previous year are mainly due to the higher amount of social security and health insurance payments, the baseline effect of pension expenditures as a result of the increase in July 2016, the subsidy expenditures and the increase in social security contributions linked to the higher contribution to the Pensions Fund for the persons pursuant to Article 69 of the Social Insurance Code by 20 pps as against 2016.

The part of Bulgaria's contribution to the EU budget, as paid from the central budget as of end-June 2017, amounts to BGN 488.3 million, which complies with the existing legislation in the area of EU own resources, i.e. Council Decision 2014/335/EU on the system of own resources of the European Union, Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 608/2014 of 26 May 2014 laying down implementing measures for the system of own resources of the European Union and Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 609/2014 of 26 May 2014 on the methods and procedure for making available the traditional, VAT and GNI-based own resources and on the measures to meet cash requirements, as amended by Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2016/804 of 17 May 2016.

The statistics, the Information Bulletin on the Execution of the State Budget and the key Consolidated Fiscal Programme indicators based on the monthly data on cash execution of the budgets of first-level spending units will be published on the website of the Ministry of Finance at the end of July 2017.