Needless to say, this news will not find its place in the International Herald Tribune, who became notorious for bashing Bulgaria in the last few months.
However, Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities, published today the information about the GDP growth in 2008.
Bulgaria has the highest growth among all EU members.
The results are published in details at the official web site of the Eurostat.
The Q4 figures are stunning, as this is the quarter, when Latvia basically went bankrupt, and the government had to resign. Romania asked for Euro 10 B help, and the total growth of the 27 EU member countries is minus 1.3 %…
Of course, many people will argue that the GDP does not prove anything, or that Bulgaria’s numbers were low, but this does not explain the very fact of running an economy in crisis, and what the growth means for the overall development of the country. Bulgaria today is more stable than the rest of the new EU members. It still attracts foreign investments, and makes possible for companies to work at 10 % corporate tax, and with the 10 % flat income tax, people are more stimulated than ever to not hide their income.
It is a pity the main media will not publish something good about my country. Perhaps, if the Q4 results were bad, then it would have published some headlines like, “Corruption makes Bulgaria poorer”, or “Bulgarian government takes the country down”?
Here’s what the IHT wrote on the just-released data from Eurostat – EU: lower exports, investment behind 4Q slump
Reuters also makes a point: Record euro zone GDP fall confirmed as ECB meets.
But don’t think that only the Western media are not writing about the success story. Bulgarian media don’t mention it, either.