Bulgaria's projected 2023 budget deficit drops to 2.5%/GDP

"Preliminary data on budget execution show that the deficit will be lower than planned," Vassilev said on Thursday.

He further noted that the reduced shortfall would lead to an additional 1 billion levs (512 million euro/$566 million) available for municipal projects in 2024.

The finance ministry's 2024-2026 medium-term budget forecast published last month calls for a consolidated budget deficit of 5.8 billion levs in 2023, or 3.0% of GDP.

Bulgaria, which hopes to adopt the euro in 2025, must maintain a deficit below 3.0% of GDP, a key requirement for entry into the euro zone.

Vassilev said that the euro zone's deficit criteria for 2023 are fully met.

Bulgaria is also expected to meet the inflation criteria for euro zone entry in June or July next year, he added.

Before adopting the euro, member states must maintain a rate of inflation, observed over a one-year period before the examination, that does not exceed by more than 1.5 percentage points the inflation rate of the three best-performing member states in terms of price stability.

Bulgaria's consumer prices increased by 5.4% on the year in November, following a 5.8% annual rise in October. Consumer price growth in the 20 nations sharing the euro currency dropped to 2.4% in November from 2.9% in October.

(1 lev = 0.51 euro)