EC ends excessive deficit procedure against Bulgaria
The European Commission (EC) has terminated the excessive budget deficit procedure against Bulgaria, as well as Finland, Denmark and Cyprus, the European Union's executive arm said in a statement on Thursday.
The EC has concluded that "no further steps in the procedure are needed at present," as Bulgaria had taken measures to ensure adequate progress towards the correction of the excessive deficit within the time limits set by the Council.
The Commission also said the country had made the necessary steps to address the excessive deficit by 2011 by avoiding a deterioration of the 2010 gap beyond the projected level of 3.8% of gross domestic product (GDP), in line with EC recommendations.
The EC also expects that Bulgaria would have met the budget deficit target of 3.8% of GDP in 2010, as envisaged in the revised 2010 budget.
The Commission also projects a deficit of 2.9% of GDP for 2011, based on assumptions for sustained policies, improvement in economic prospects and adequate evaluation of the fiscal consolidation measures.