Bulgaria’s economic development is very good thanks to the consistent fiscal policy led by the Government, according to Alfred Gusenbauer, the federal chancellor of Austria, after a meeting with Sergey Stanishev, Bulgaria’s prime minister.

At the meeting the two discussed the economic cooperation of the two countries, Bulgaria’s membership in the European Union, as well as the effects of the world financial crisis.

The Bulgarian premier emphasised that Austria is the biggest investor in the country and added that this tradition will be kept in the future. Austrian firms have invested over € 3.5bn in Bulgaria. Stanishev pointed out that for now Bulgaria’s economy is very stable, but it is not isolated from the other European countries, which have already been affected by the financial crisis.

According to Gusenbauer, the EU membership was not premature and proof of this is the good economic development of the country. Gusenbauer added that the policy of budget surplus is a good move by the Bulgarian government. According to him, this is one of the major reasons for the stability of the country amid the world financial crisis.