Debt-to-GDP ratio

At the end of the first quarter of 2014, Bulgaria's government debt increased by 1.4 percentage points from the last quarter of 2013 and by 2.3 pp from the first quarter of 2013, to 20.3% of the GDP, according to Eurostat.

In the last quarter of 2013 the government debt amounted to 18.9% of the GDP and in the first quarter of 2013 it stood at 18.0% of the GDP.

Albania's Minister for the Economy, Arben Ahmetaj, told a parliamentary commission on Tuesday that the country could no longer afford to pay for new motorways on its own and would turn to the private sector for investment.

"Because of the financial situation that we have inherited we have found it impossible to provide this service,” he told parliament on Tuesday.

BELGRADE - The analysis of debt issued by the National Bank of Serbia (NBS) has showed that Serbia's external debt has reduced by EUR 338.2 million in the first three months of 2014, while the public debt went up by EUR 365.8 million.

Central Bank: External debt falls, public debt rises

BELGRADE -- The analysis of debt issued by the National Bank of Serbia shows that Serbia's external debt has reduced by EUR 338.2 million in the first three months of 2014.

At the same time, the public debt went up by EUR 365.8 million.

The report entitled "Albania’s Public Finance Review," underlines that Tirana’s fiscal deficit is largely structurally driven, and says reforms in tax, administration, pensions and energy could significantly enhance its fiscal sustainability.

By Leonid Bershidsky

Europe has a new source of economic growth. In the next few months all European Union countries that do not already include drugs, prostitution, and other illegal and gray-market businesses in their gross domestic product calculations will have to do so.

 If measures are taken to ease the debt, there should be no need for primary surpluses to reach 4.5 pct of GDP

By Sotiris Nikas

The government is planning to raise the issue of changing the fiscal targets when talks on the sustainability of the Greek debt begin at the end of August, in an effort to loosen fiscal policy after a long period of austerity.

Greek state debt surged to the highest in the euro era last year, underscoring the urgency of Prime Minister Antonis Samaras’s push to lower the cost of the government’s bailout loans.