November is the decisive months

In the second quarter of 2010 Bulgaria will emerge slightly from the crisis. That forecast now Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Simeon Diankov.

We are still in crisis and it will cover both the fourth quarter of the year and first quarter of 2010, the Minister pointed out. He gave a press conference regarding the data of Eurostat for the EU’s GDP for the third quarter of 2009, according to which Bulgaria’s economy continues to decline. The data recorded a growth of 0.4 percent for the euro area and 0.2 percent for the 27 EU countries compared with the previous quarter. This means that, at least as regards the technical definition of Europe has issued a recession.
During the first nine months of 2009 a decline in real GDP in Bulgaria was 4.8 percent compared with first nine months of the previous year, express NSI estimations. In the third quarter over the same period of 2008 the decline is 5.8 percent. This is the biggest drop in 12 years. I expected a week or two ago to see something much worse, however, said Deputy Prime Minister.
Eurostat data show that Bulgaria is in 5th place among the countries with the worst in Europe, before we are Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Romania. The only country that has started to come out of the crisis is Poland (Poland did not actually reporting a decrease this year, but it is the countries for which no data yet for the third quarter).
Despite the downturn registered in the words of Diankov already seen resurgence in several sectors of industry – textiles, glasswork, production of marble and food products. According to him, this is due to the first positive signs in combating the informal sector. Revenue growth was already recorded in customs – from duty in November and the Minister expects a rise in revenues from VAT NRA, BGNES. Diankov said that already reported the results of the reforms in revenue administration.
Bulgaria would come out better than the crisis was triggered if possible mechanisms to overcome such as small infrastructure projects. Instead, the cabinet „Stanishev is invested in large infrastructure projects and money to the economy were delayed because they had passed through the Development Bank.
Currently, the budget deficit is 544 million BGN Diankov said, quoted by BTA. He added that November will be decisive month to show whether we can achieve a balanced budget.
BSP leader Sergey Stanishev said that the only anti-crisis measures being implemented are those that have been made by the previous government – the Development Bank, the financing of real sector, extension of time allowed for half-time.
The Finance Minister made speeches every day as unruly racket in many ways and they constantly need to be adjusted even by representatives of management, said the former prime minister told reporters in commenting on the words of Diankov that the plan „Stanishev“ the economy has shrunk by a percentage rate and a half. BSP leader recalled the ideas of the Finance Minister to raise the retirement age for the management of fiscal reserves by commercial banks, the promise of an agreement with the IMF and to update the budget, which had subsequently been corrected.

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Finance