A report on Bulgaria by the Oxford Business Group was unveiled in Sofia on Monday. The report
contains interviews with President Georgi Purvanov, Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ivailo Kalfin, the viewpoint of European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, US Senator George Voinovich and former rapporteur for Bulgaria Geoffrey van Orden, BTA informed.

The report analyses the effect of Bulgaria's accession to the EU on various economic sectors. It contains a detailed analysis of the new corporate tax and the taxation reform. Special attention is devoted to the development of the energy sector, infrastructure renovation and the country's potential in the IT sector.

Foreign Minister Kalfin said the report is objective as it combines the outside view with the inside view, which gives the best possible picture to investors. Last year, when the report was compiled, was the first year of Bulgaria's EU membership, Kalfin said. According to him, the report acknowledges the high growth of foreign investment, which totals 13,000 million euro since 2005. Bulgaria remains a leader among European countries in terms of foreign direct investment, he said.

The report pays attention to a major issue: the current account deficit, Kalfin said, adding that a large part of the deficit is due to production investments. With the changes in the Investments Act, the available incentives are for investments in production activity, he said.

The report also discusses last year's inflation, which was much higher than the projection for the 2007 budget. This is due primarily to two reasons: growing prices of food and of energy resources, Kalfin said. According to him, the Government carefully follows the problem and takes anti-inflation measures. The Bulgarian economy, including the financial sphere, is well protected. Bulgarian banks have not been affected by the credit crisis, he said.