site.btaEU, Eurozone Post 2.9% Budget Deficit in Q1, Bulgaria Records 4.6%

The deficit under the consolidated general government budget, expressed as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), reached 2.9% in both the EU and the euro area in the first quarter of 2025. This is according to the latest seasonally adjusted data from Eurostat, published Monday on the website of the statistical agency.

Total government revenues of EU countries amounted to 46.2% of GDP in the first quarter of 2025, remaining unchanged compared to the previous quarter. Seasonally adjusted total revenues in the EU increased in nominal terms by approximately EUR 21 billion compared to the fourth quarter of 2024.

Total government expenditures in the EU stood at 49.1% of GDP, a decrease from 49.5% of GDP in the previous quarter. Seasonally adjusted total expenditures rose by approximately EUR 5 billion compared to the previous quarter.

Total government revenues in the euro area amounted to 46.6% of GDP in the first quarter of 2025. The slight decline from 46.7% in the fourth quarter of 2024 is primarily due to the increase in seasonally adjusted government revenues in absolute terms, which outpaced the growth in nominal GDP. In absolute terms, seasonally adjusted total revenues in the euro area increased by approximately EUR 11 billion compared to the fourth quarter of 2024.

Total government expenditures in the euro area amounted to 49.5% of GDP, representing a decrease from the previous quarter. This is due to a modest increase of about EUR 2 billion in seasonally adjusted expenditures, which slightly exceeded the growth in nominal GDP.

In Bulgaria, the consolidated government budget recorded a deficit of 4.6% of GDP in the first quarter of 2025, compared to a surplus of 1.6% in the fourth quarter of 2024, according to seasonally adjusted data from Eurostat.

According to data from the Bulgarian Ministry of Finance, published in May, the budget balance under the Consolidated Fiscal Program (CFP) as of March 2025 was negative, amounting to BGN 1.926 billion, or 0.9% of the projected GDP.