Bulgaria to Freeze Salary Indexation in State Sectors for Second Year
The government proposes to freeze, rather than abolish, automatic salary increases linked to the average wage in the police, defence, and higher education sectors for another year.
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Bulgaria’s draft budget for 2027 proposes freezing, rather than abolishing, the automatic link between salaries in several state sectors and the average wage for a second consecutive year. According to documents seen by Mediapool, Finance Minister Galab Donev has included the measure for the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Defence, the National Protection Service, and higher education institutions.
The decision follows a Constitutional Court ruling in October, which found that making permanent and significant changes to other laws through the budget law is unconstitutional. Abolishing the automatic mechanisms would therefore require separate amendments to each sectoral law, and no such proposals have been tabled.
The Interior Ministry will be most affected. Prime Minister Rumen Radev announced that personnel spending for Interior and Defence will not increase in 2027, while other budget sectors are set for a 5% rise. The ministry’s personnel budget is proposed to stay at practically the same level as 2026, but the draft includes a reduction of up to 10% in salary costs from 1 January. This comes as about 1,700 new specialised employees are being hired, while 1,928 positions may be cut.
The government also proposes freezing salaries in the judiciary for 2027, after the Constitutional Court overturned a formula that linked them to MPs’ pay. The new budget will apply the amounts set by the Supreme Judicial Council as of 1 August 2026.
Trade unions in the Interior Ministry have indicated they are prepared to protest the measures.
