Sweden and Bulgaria - the only countries in the EU with a balanced budget

Apart from Sweden, Bulgaria is the only other EU member-state with a balanced budget for 2012, Bulgarian Minister of Finance Simeon Djankov told BNT. “We were patient, we did our job well, our budget is balanced and that is important,” added Djankov.

According to Mr. Djankov, Bulgaria has met all criteria to join the Eurozone, “without wanting to join it”. He said that apart from Bulgaria, only Denmark and Sweden meet the criteria. “We just had a plan and the plan worked. We were also a bit lucky, of course, as after the meetings of prime ministers, after many, many meetings which were quite futile, they took some important decisions at the end of last week and finished this Monday and Tuesday. That is good for the government budget, as it creates calm. The interest rate is considerably lower than the one we are paying at the moment – 4.25% compared to 7.50%,” Mr. Djankov said, comparing the yield of the Eurobonds issued by him and those issued by former Minister of Finance Milen Velchev.

The Minister of Finance also said that the successful placement of Bulgarian bonds on Monday depended on the fact that Moody's Rating Agency upgraded Bulgaria's rating last year. That will help us “hope that by the end of this year or the beginning of next year, Standard & Poor's – the other major rating agency – will also upgrade our rating, which will support the entire business.” According to Djankov, the effect of the higher rating will help the banks, whose interest rates will automatically fall. And then, in time, corporate and household interest rates will also decrease.

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