Bulgaria ranked fourth among European Union member states for the largest current account deficit in the first quarter of 2026, trailing only Greece, Romania, and Croatia, according to the latest balance of payments data.
Despite the weak performance of several member states, the EU as a whole posted a seasonally adjusted current account surplus of 113.4 billion euros during the first three months of the year, equivalent to 2.4% of the bloc's gross domestic product. The result marks an improvement from the fourth quarter of 2025, when the surplus stood at 99.2 billion euros, or 2.1% of GDP, and from the first quarter of 2025, when it reached 104.9 billion euros, representing 2.3% of GDP.
The composition of the EU's external balance shifted during the quarter. The surplus from trade in goods declined to 66.7 billion euros from 89 billion euros in the previous quarter, while the surplus from trade in services increased from 43.9 billion euros to 52.1 billion euros.
At the same time, the primary income account moved from a deficit of 4.3 billion euros to a surplus of 25.3 billion euros. In contrast, the secondary income deficit widened slightly, increasing from 29.4 billion euros to 30.7 billion euros. The capital account also deteriorated, with its deficit expanding from 3.2 billion euros to 3.8 billion euros.
