site.btaBulgaria on Track Join Eurozone in 2025, but Budget Should Not Accelerate Inflation, Says IMF Director for Europe

Alfred Kammer is the Director of the European Department at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), said in a BTA interview during the spring meetings of the World Bank and the IMF in Washington that Bulgaria is on track to join the Eurozone in 2025, but the budget should not accelerate inflation. Kammer also pointed out that in order to offer better services to its citizens, the government must find a way to secure them, and one of the Fund's proposals in this direction is the introduction of a more progressive tax system and an increase in corporate tax.

Kammer  said that Europe faces significant problems in the medium term, among them labour productivity and an aging population. Not all acquired skills and certifications are recognized from one EU country to another, and moving from one country to another is 8 times more expensive than a worker moving from one US state to another.

In order for the EU to cope with the challenges, the IMF recommended a deep integration of the single market by reducing internal barriers, which if lowered by 10% , would lead to an increase in GDP by 7 percentage points, Kammer also pointed out. Among the challenges facing Europe, he singled out the lack of a complete banking union and one in the capital markets, which prevents start-up companies from finding financing and makes them choose the USA for their next stages of development.