01.03.2017

Based on preliminary data and estimates the balance of the Consolidated Fiscal Programme (CFP) on a cash basis as of February 2017 is expected to be positive, amounting to BGN 822.4 million (0.9% of forecast GDP).

Key CFP parameters on the basis of preliminary data and estimates:

In February 2017, CFP revenues and grants are expected to be BGN 5,733.0 million (16.2% of the annual estimate), registering a growth by BGN 213.6 million as against February 2016. The growth as compared to the previous year is mainly due to the higher tax and non-tax revenues which increased by BGN 450.8 million (9.0%), while proceeds from grants were lower.

The Consolidated Fiscal Programme expenditures, including the contribution of the Republic of Bulgaria to the EU budget, for February 2017 amount to BGN 4,910.6 million, which accounts for 13.4% of the annual estimates. Compared to the same period of the previous year, CFP expenditures have increased mostly due to the higher social security and health insurance payments, a baseline effect on expenditures on pensions from their increase as from July 2016, expenditures on subsidies and growth of insurance payments related to the higher insurance contribution for the Pensions for Persons under Article 69 Fund which increased by 20 percentage points as compared to 2016.

The part of Bulgaria's contribution to the EU budget, paid from the central budget as of 28.02.2017, amounts to BGN 154.3 million, which complies with the current legislation in the area of EU own resources - Council Decision 2014/335/EU, Euratom 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) No 2016/804 of 17 May 2016.

The statistics and 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 March 2017.