Inside Bulgaria's Easter Celebrations: Traditions Passed Through Generations
Today marks the joyous celebration of Easter, one of the most significant holidays in the Orthodox Christian calendar.
Bulgaria, Romania, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland need to implement structural reforms to raise their growth potential and re-start the process of income convergence with the EU average, Fitch rating agency said.
Low GDP per capita relative to the EU average constrains upward sovereign rating momentum for these countries, according to the report.
“Structural reforms could allow CEE-5 countries to generate autonomous momentum to improve medium-term growth prospects and spur real income convergence,” Fitch said in its report.
It recommends that the reforms should cover a wide array of sectors, including public healthcare, pension systems, the labour market, innovation and SOEs.
Fitch believes that Poland is currently best placed to enjoy a recovery, followed by Romania, Bulgaria and the Czech Republic. Hungary trails the other countries.
Fitch forecasts that average-weighted GDP growth in the five main Eastern European economies in the EU but outside the eurozone (Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Romania and Bulgaria, or CEE-5) will rise to 1% in 2013, following an estimated 0.6% in 2012.
Domestic demand is unlikely to lead the economic recovery in the CEE-5 in 2013. EU funds could boost public investment, although the factors that have held back EU fund absorption to date are likely to continue to hinder faster absorption.
Conversely, Fitch believes that fiscal consolidation is largely complete in the CEE-5 and little additional fiscal tightening will be needed from 2013. The average general government deficit (GGD) in the CEE-5 was an estimated 2.9% of GDP in 2012, below the Maastricht threshold of 3%.
Nonetheless, the agency believes that there is little fiscal space in most CEE-5 countries to absorb a severe external shock.
Beyond 2013, CEE-5 growth prospects appear brighter, provided recovery takes hold in the eurozone, investment picks up and countries engage in greater structural reforms.
However, potential growth rates have fallen across the EU, limiting trade and foreign direct investment opportunities, putting the onus on structural reforms to reinvigorate growth.
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As the clock ticks down to midnight tonight, Bulgarians are reminded that April 30th marks the final day for filing their 2023 personal income tax returns
Bulgaria's National Bank has disclosed the country's external debt figures, revealing a notable increase in gross foreign debt at the end of February 2024
Fitch Ratings, a leading credit rating agency, has affirmed Bulgaria's Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating at 'BBB' with a Positive Outlook
The National Statistical Institute reports that in 2023, the poverty line for the entire country stood at 637.92 BGN per person per month within households
Bulgaria's long-anticipated entry into the Eurozone may face a delay, as the country is unlikely to meet the inflation criterion required for the introduction of the euro on January 1, 2025
The price of retail lamb in Bulgaria has surged by 8.4% on an annual basis, according to statistics released by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food, with data sourced from SAPI indicating an average price of BGN 25.27 per kilogram as of April 10
UN Happiness Report: Bulgaria's Astonishing Leap in Rankings
Bulgaria: 3 Regions With Lowest Life Expectancy - EU Report 2022