In ForbesBulgaria.com, Petar Ganev from the Institute for Market Economics (IME), as part of the Epicenter network, warned that Bulgaria’s support for a significantly larger EU budget through the ‘Friends of Cohesion’ group carries serious risks, including new European taxes and greater fiscal centralisation. The article presents the network’s Alternative EU Budget proposal, which caps the Multiannual Financial Framework at around 1% of GNI, calls for deep cuts to inefficient spending, and prioritises competitiveness and the Single Market over expanding fiscal transfers.