Bulgaria's finance minister said the country's budget deficit for 2011 stood at 2.1% of its gross domestic product (GDP).
This will leave Bulgaria's fiscal reserve with a surplus of 400 million euro that could be used to co-finance EU-funded projects in the country, Simeon Dyankov said, as quoted by news agency Focus.
Bulgaria closed 2010 with a budget deficit of 2.8 billion levs ($1.8 billion/1.4 billion euro), equivalent to 3.9% of the projected GDP. The government planned to bring down the budget shortfall to 2.5% of GDP in 2011.
In January-November 2011 the gap was equivalent to 2.6% of GDP.
The 2012 budget bill envisages a budget deficit of 1.56 billion levs, equivalent to 1.3% of the projected GDP.