A protest organized by the Continue the Change party against the adoption of the budget blocked traffic on Wednesday at the square known as the "Power Triangle", where the new National Assembly building is flanked by the Presidency and the Council of Ministers. The protest was scheduled for 6 p.m., but people gathered in front of the National Assembly building to watch the meeting of the parliamentary Budget and Finance Committee together.
There is an increased police presence in the area. Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria MP Ivaylo Mirchev stated that all police leave in Sofia had been cancelled, with law enforcement officers called in front of Parliament at 4 p.m. The Interior Ministry denied that information.
On the agenda of Wednesday's committee meeting was the second-reading vote on the draft budgets of the Public Social Insurance and the National Health Insurance Fund. The meeting began with tension between Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria MP Assen Vassilev and the committee Chair, Delyan Dobrev (GERB-UDF). The dispute arose from the meeting beginning earlier than announced - it started at 12:15 p.m., although it had been scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Vassilev insisted that the meeting wait until the appointed time and blocked the committee's work until then.