Bulgarian Academy of Sciences: 3% Growth 'Possible' in 2016

Bulgaria's economy will speed up its growth in 2016 and GDP could be 3% up that year, the Institute for Economic Studies at the Academy of Sciences argues.

A report focused on poverty and social exclusion has shown that such increase in GDP is possible if conditions in the EU continue their "optimistic" development, if political and economic stability are kept in the country and if "additional factors" could be used to boost growth, Mitko Dimitrov, who heads the Institute at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAN), said for the private broadcaster bTV.

Dimitrov reminded that the country's output is strongly dependent on external conditions. However, he pointed improving the quality of work in Bulgarian institutions as a means to impact economic conditions from the inside.

Mitkov said the Institute at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences described the current pace of the economy as "stagnation".

Bulgaria, which is considered to be still developing in terms of market economy, has registered a sluggish growth over the past years.

It was somewhere between 0.4 and 1.8% for 2010-2012, with estimates by the World Bank suggesting a 5.5-percent contraction in 2009 as an aftermath of the financial crisis in Europe.

This followed a stable growth of more than 6% for the previous five years.

The Institute predicts GDP will go up 1.7% this year and 2.4% in 2015.