Bulgaria Expects EU Funds Absorption to Raise GDP by 9.3% by End-2015
Bulgaria expects that by the end of 2015 its gross domestic product (GDP) would be 9.3% higher than it is now, driven by the European money disbursed under structural and cohesion funds, the minister in charge of the EU funds absorption Tomislav Donchev said.
One of the most tangible effects on Bulgaria's economy, which will be visible even in the short term, will be increased employment, Donchev said on Tuesday at an official presentation of a mathematical model called SIBILA, Simulation of Bulgaria`s Investment in Long-term Advance.
By the end of last year, the coefficient of unemployment in the country was 1.7% lower than it would have been without the absorption of EU financing, according to the model. EU funds absorption has also contributed to 2.6% higher employment rate by the end of 2011 compared with the level it would have been without the European financing.
In terms of private investment, the method envisages 40.7% growth by the end of 2015 compared with a scenario excluding any investment from EU funds.