The projections for Bulgaria's economic growth in 2019 and 2020 remain unchanged - 3.3% and 3.4% respectively. Inflation will be 2.4% this year and 1.7% in 2020, according to the European Commission's economic forecast.

In the first quarter of the year, growth in the euro area was higher than expected due to a number of temporary factors, such as mild winters and rising car sales. Growth was also favored by fiscal policy measures, which made household disposable income in a number of Member States rising. However, the short-term outlook for the European economy is diminished by external factors, including global trade tensions and significant political uncertainty.

These factors continued to negatively affect the confidence in the manufacturing sector, which is most exposed to international trade, and this is expected to reduce growth prospects for the remainder of the year.

As a result, the eurozone GDP growth projection of 1.2% in 2019 remains unchanged, while the forecast for 2020 is slightly reduced to 1.4% given the expected moderate growth rate over the rest of this year. The forecast for GDP for the EU remains unchanged - 1.4% in 2019 and 1.6% in 2020. The GDP forecast for Bulgaria is also unchanged - 3.3% in 2019. and 3.4% for 2020.

During this and next year, GDP is expected to grow in all EU Member States. Domestic demand, in particular household consumption, continues to be a driving force for economic growth in Europe thanks to the continuing increase in the labor market.

Estimates of overall inflation in the EU and the euro area were down 0.1 percentage points this and next year, mainly due to lower oil prices and slightly weaker economic prospects.