According to data published by the European Commission, the GDP of the European Union will increase with 0.1% annual rate in 2013. Commentators from the Institute of Market Economics said that the situation in Cyprus from the past couple of days clearly showed that the issue with the European sovereign debt crisis had not been entirely resolved and continued to exist. The prediction is that the financial crisis will be on the agenda for at least 5 to 10 more years, as long as the excessive amount of sovereign debt has not been paid – something that could not be achieved within several months or a year. According to the Institute of Market Economics the expenses of the socialist countries is one of the main reasons for the dept crisis. These countries have adopted measures that are primarily focused on tax increase, while the effects of the fiscal constraints are comparatively weak and the savings are insufficient. It is likely that the Balkan economies will grow with 2 % to 2.5% annual rate in 2013, which is a decent result in comparison to the situation in Western Europe. The CEO of international economic relations in the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce is of the opinion that there are new economies from the former Yugoslav countries currently gaining strength and thus representing a good place for investments. The Chamber has estimated that the exports from Bulgaria diminished in the past year, but the decrease was partially compensated by the considerable growth in exports from non-EU countries. China is one of the countries whose export rates doubled in the previous year. The markets outside of the EU provide Bulgaria with an opportunity for export increase in the years to come. The export of these other countries, including Turkey, may compensate the shrinking of the European market.
