budget

The Czech government presented its 2027 state budget draft with deficit of CZK 389 billion while highlighting a figure of 2.8% of GDP and comparing it favorably with deficits elsewhere in the EU. Yet, these figures describe different concepts.

Finding a Slovak politician willing to comment on the new EU budget proposal is like looking for a needle in a haystack. Unfortunately, the topic dominating the news these days is more whether the Commission might halt the money pipeline over resolutions from the European Parliament. Yet, a meeting in Brussels has since taken place that could well decide the budget\'s fate.

Bulgaria is about to enter the excessive deficit procedure for the second time in its recent history. At present, all expectations are focused on the government, which must propose a regular budget for 2026 and give a clear signal that it is reversing the trajectory of public finances.

The new government in Bulgaria is proposing a budget with a deficit of 5.7% of GDP, or EUR 7.2 billion. And this is happening in the country with the lowest unemployment in the European Union — the lowest since records began.

One of the recommendations of last week\'s IMF mission in Bulgaria is to \"cool down wage growth in the public sector.\" This is not the first time that the IME has commented on the accumulation of risks to fiscal stability as a result of ill-considered decisions to increase spending, and in particular wages in the defense and security sectors over the past year.

Karol Nawrocki has been the President of Poland since 6 August 2025. During the election campaign, the president-elect made it clear that he would not support government bills aimed at restoring constitutional order in the judiciary — including those concerning the status of so-called “neo-judges” or repairing the Constitutional Tribunal.

In 2024, Romania will break the 50% government debt limit, becoming the EU country with the largest increase in the debt-to-GDP ratio since the start of the pandemic. High budget deficits - levels of 6-9% of GDP - have pushed Romania\'s debt from 35% in 2019 to 52% in 2024, with a forecast of close to 60% in 2026. In just a few years, Romania will likely have a higher debt than Germany.

In 2024, Ukraine demonstrated a strong commitment to its economic obligations, meeting key conditions under the IMF and EU support programs. The country remained on track with its structural benchmarks, ensuring the flow of critical financing for non-defense expenditures. Entering 2025, risks persist, but Ukraine\'s focus on reforms and its urgent financing needs make staying the course essential.

The number thirteen is commonly recognized as an unlucky number. But for Hungarian businesspeople, the preceding number is worse, as the 12th is the deadline for paying taxes.

In 2004 the Institute for Market Economics (IME) presented its first Alternative Budget. Each year since that we have suggested an annual budgetary frame with lower taxes, more effective spending, bold reforms, and lower state interference. At the beginning of 2023, Bulgaria will not have a state budget drafted by a regular government and voted on by a parliamentary majority.