Country Report Bulgaria 2018, including an In-Depth Review on the prevention and correction of macroeconomic imbalances, assesses Bulgariaʼs economy in the light of the European Commission’s Annual Growth Survey. Member States should put the focus on enhancing social fairness in order to deliver more inclusive growth.
“The social protection system is insufficient to tackle the significant social issues”, is the conclusion of the report. “The percentage of the population at risk of poverty or social exclusion is among the highest in the EU particularly among the disadvantaged social groups. The adequacy and coverage of social assistance benefits are low and there is no objective mechanism to update the benefits. The flat personal income tax has a small redistributive impact. Inequality of opportunity in education, healthcare and housing remains of concern. The provision of social services is insufficient and their integration with labour market services remains incomplete.”
The in-depth reviews (IDRs) are analytical documents by the Commission aimed at identifying and assessing the severity of macroeconomic imbalances. The annual Alert Mechanism Report (AMR) selects the countries for which an IDR is prepared by the Commission.
IDRs aim to identify the nature and severity of macroeconomic imbalances in EU countries. In its analysis, the European Commission takes into account existing Council recommendations and policy commitments of the country concerned. Since 2015 IDRs have been incorporated in the European semester’s country reports.
Full Report (PDF, 2 MB)
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