Bulgaria's Retail Sales Surge as EU Faces Decline
Retail sales across the European Union showed a decline in December, with both the eurozone and the EU reporting decreases
Bulgaria had EU's second lowest debt-to-GDP ratio among the EU 27 in 2011 – 16.3%, according to data released by Eurostat.
The lowest ratio of government debt to GDP was recorded in Estonia (6.0%). Bulgaria is followed by uxembourg (18.2%), Romania (33.3%), Sweden (38.4%), Lithuania (38.5%), the Czech Republic (41.2%), Latvia (42.6%), Slovakia (43.3%) and Denmark (46.5%).
Fourteen Member States had government debt ratios higher than 60% of GDP in 2011: Greece (165.3%), Italy (120.1%), Ireland (108.2%), Portugal (107.8%), Belgium (98.0%), France (85.8%), the United Kingdom (85.7%), Germany (81.2%), Hungary (80.6%), Austria (72.2%), Malta (72.0%), Cyprus (71.6%), Spain (68.5%) and the Netherlands (65.2%).
In 2011 the largest government deficits in percentage of GDP were recorded in Ireland (-13.1%), Greece (-9.1%), Spain (-8.5%), the United Kingdom (-8.3%), Slovenia (-6.4%), Cyprus (-6.3%), Lithuania (-5.5%), France and Romania (both -5.2%) and Poland (-5.1%). The lowest deficits were recorded in Finland (-0.5%), Luxembourg (-0.6%) and Germany (-1.0%). Hungary (+4.3%), Estonia (+1.0%) and Sweden (+0.3%) registered a government surplus in 2011.
The European Union's statistics institute Monday confirmed the 2011 budget-deficit estimates of most European countries, with the exception of Ireland, which Eurostat forecasts as being much higher.
Eurostat sees Ireland's budget deficit at 13.1% of gross domestic product, compared with Dublin's projection of 9.8%.
Eurostat estimated that overall the government deficits in the 27 EU countries and also in the 17 euro-zone countries shrank compared with 2010, but debt-to-GDP levels increased.
Economists have urged Bulgaria’s leadership to submit an application to the European Commission and the European Central Bank for an extraordinary convergence report on joining the eurozone
Representatives of Bulgaria’s ruling coalition have once again highlighted a significant deficit in the state budget, with Stanislav Balabanov from "There Is Such a People" (TISP) stating that 2025 will be a transitional year regarding the eurozone
Valeri Belchev, former acting Minister of Finance, recently expressed strong concerns about Bulgaria's financial management, particularly focusing on the lack of proper budget management tools
Kalin Hristov, former deputy governor of the Bulgarian National Bank and former finance minister, expressed concern over the public discourse on key economic issues
A recent survey conducted by the "Myara" sociological agency reveals significant skepticism among Bulgarians regarding the adoption of the euro
Economist Nikola Yankov, a former deputy minister of economy in Bulgaria and currently leading the economic team of the "Blue Bulgaria" party, expressed on BNR concerns about the current political and economic direction in the country
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