The Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Predicts that Bulgaria's Lag behind the EU to Continue for at least 15 Years

Bulgaria should not think of catching up with the average European level in the next 15 years, Prof. Viktor Yotsov, from the Institute for Economic Research at BAS, told bTV. He is the head of the team who drafted the Annual Report on Economic Development and Policies in Bulgaria.

In his words, reaching 75% of the average levels of European economies will take at least 13 years at a growth rate that is 2% higher than in more developed countries. "With 3.6% (as it is at present) it will take us 30 years," he said.

"It is unpleasant that we are lagging behind the other new EU countries that have seen more growth than we did last year. Romania is a leader with 7% growth, "Yotsov said.

According to him, there is a need for structural policies, related to the allocation of resources by sector and increasing production capacity. "The demographic structure is extremely unfavorable - we have a population reduction (...) 30-40 thousand lost every year," Yotsov warned.

He declared a serious debate about the so-called "flat tax". According to him, it was introduced without consulting the public and the experts at a time that was more favorable for the Bulgarian economy.