EC: Bulgaria's Economy to Grow by 2.3% in 2012
Bulgaria's economy will register a growth of 2.3% in 2012, according to the Fall Economic Forecast of the European Commission unveiled Thursday.
"The recovery in Bulgaria has been slow so far and is lagging behind the rebound in most EU emerging economies. The necessary correction of large domestic and external imbalances accumulated during the boom years continues at a fast pace," says the Commission in the section on Bulgaria in its forecast.
The EC predicts that Bulgaria's GDP growth in 2011 will amount to 2.2%, after 0.2% in 2010. Bulgaria's 2013 economic growth is projected at 3.0%.
The EC Fall Economic Forecast presented by EC Commissioner for Monetary Affairs Olli Rehn came a day after Bulgarian Finance Minister said 2012 will be "much harder" than 2011 in economic terms.
He even dubbed the project of the draft 2012 State Budget Act for an economic growth of 2.9% in 2012 to actually be too optimistic judging on the grounds of the most recent information about the global economy that was not available to his team a month ago when the legislation was drawn.
According to latest EC forecast, Bulgaria's inflation will reach 3.6% in 2011, 3.1% in 2012, and 3.0% in 2013, after standing at 3.0% in 2010.
Bulgaria's unemployment is predicted to go slightly up and then slightly down - it is estimated at 12.2% at the end of 2011, up from 10.2% a year earlier, and expected to go down to 12.1% in 2012, and 11.3% in 2013.
Bulgaria's budget deficit is expected to decline to 1.7% in 2012, down from 2.5% in 2011, and 3.1% in 2010, and to go down to 1.3% in 2013. In this respect, the forecast of the EC is much more pessimistic than that of the Bulgarian government since the draft 2012 budget law projects a budget deficit of only 1.35% in 2012. (Source: Sofia News Agency)