The National Bank of Georgia’s Vice Governor Nino Jeladze addressed the Parliamentary Committee on Finance and Budget on the initial draft of the 2026 State Budget, stating that the central bank has no comments on the submitted document and assessing that the 2026 budget will not exert inflationary pressure. Her remarks highlighted the importance of ongoing fiscal consolidation, with the consolidated budget deficit for 2026 remaining close to a sustainable level of 3 percent in line with the fiscal rule. Under the National Bank of Georgia’s baseline forecast, 2025 economic activity continues to normalise toward its long-term growth rate of 5 percent, largely driven by increased productivity, and the economy’s positive cyclical position is expected to return to equilibrium in 2026, making a neutral budget deficit optimal. The central bank’s opinion on the draft budget law is based on an analytical assessment of the consolidated budget as the measure of fiscal policy’s impact on aggregate demand and inflation.