site.btaFinance Ministry Expects 2016 to Have CFP Surplus

Finance Ministry Expects 2016 to Have  CFP Surplus

Sofia, December 24 (BTA) - A surplus is expected for 2016 of the Consolidated Fiscal Programme (CFP), for the first time since 2008, which is also a considerable improvement on the initial fiscal objective of a two per cent budget deficit of the projected Gross Domestic Product, the Finance Ministry said in a press release.

The CFP balance on a cash basis as at end-November was in a surplus of 3,465.1 million leva (3.8 per cent of the projected GDP). By comparison, a CFP deficit of 406.4 million leva (0.5 per cent of GDP) was reported a year earlier. The surplus continues to be attributed to higher revenues and lower absorption of capital expenditure.

The fiscal reserve as at end-November was 14.3 billion leva, including 12.6 billion leva in deposits with the Bulgarian National Bank and banks, and 1.7 billion leva in receivables from the EU Funds for certified expenditure and advance payments, among others.

In 2016 Bulgaria kept its leading position of very low indebtedness among the 28 EU Member States. In terms of the consolidated general government debt to GDP ratio, Bulgaria is placed third with 29.4 per cent after Estonia (9.7 per cent) and Luxembourg (22 per cent) according to the latest Eurostat quarterly data released in October.

Thanks to the macro-economic policy pursued in the past two years, Bulgaria meets the fiscal criteria for membership in the Eurozone, the Finance Ministry says.