At a press conference held late on November 8 in Brussels, BUSINESSEUROPE's president Ernest-Antoine Seillière, secretary general Philippe de Buck and director of the Economics Department Marc Stocker presented BUSINESSEUROPE's second Economic outlook for 2007, Economic Outlook Autumn 2007 – taming uncertainties, speeding up reforms, a media statement by the Bulgarian Industrial Association said.

The outlook estimated Bulgaria's real GDP growth for 2007 at 6.5 per cent as compared to 2.6 per cent for the euro zone and 2.9 per cent for the EU. The outlook expected that Bulgaria's GDP growth for 2008 will remain unchanged at 6.5 per cent, while the euro zone and the EU's real GDP growth would decrease as compared to 2007, for 2008 respectively at 2.1 per cent and 2.4 per cent.

Inflation in Bulgaria for 2007 was expected to be 8 per cent as compared to only 2 per cent in the euro area and 2.1 per cent in the EU. Expectations are that in 2008 Bulgaria's inflation will decrease by 0.5 per cent to 7.5 per cent and in the euro area and the EU it will remain almost unchanged – 2.1 per cent for the euro area and 2.2. per cent for the EU.

The unemployment rate in Bulgaria for 2007 is estimated at 7 per cent, which is exactly the same rate as the one in the euro area and the EU. In 2008 Bulgaria's unemployment rate is expected to decrease by 0.5 per cent to 6.5 per cent, while in the euro area and in the EU it will decrease by respectively 0.2 per cent and 0.4 per cent to 6.8 per cent and 6.6 per cent.

Bulgaria's employment growth for 2007 will be 4.3 per cent, 2.8 per cent more than this in the euro area (1.5 per cent) and  2.7 per cent more than this in the EU (1.6 per cent). Expectations for 2008 are that Bulgaria's employment growth rate will decrease to 3.5 per cent (by 0.8 per cent), while the employment growth rates in the euro area and in the EU will decrease by 0.4 per cent each (to respectively 1.1 per cent and 1.2 per cent).

BUSINESSEUROPE's Economic outlook is conducted twice a year and is based on a survey among the national federations members of BUSINESSEUROPE, one of which is the Bulgarian Industrial Association. The outlook's aim is to outline the economic prospectives to the EU.