European Commission Expects GDP Growth in Bulgaria Next Year
Thanks to its strong fiscal position prior to the crisis, Bulgaria is one of the few EU countries which plan to correct their excessive deficit by 2011, the European Commission said. This will be achieved without substantial increases in the tax burden (except for the increases in social security contributions and excise tax rates to comply with EU requirements) or cuts in wages and pensions.The budget deficit is expected to improve from 4.7 per cent of GDP in 2009 to 3.8 per cent of GDP in 2010.After the economy's stagnation in 2010, the recovery is set to accelerate and gradually become broad-based in 2011 and 2012, with real GDP growth reaching 2.6% and 3.8%, respectively, underpinned by both external demand as well as a pickup of domestic demand. According to the European Commission, domestic demand keeps dragging economic recovery in 2010.