A regular expert IMF mission took place between 5 and 14 December. The mission schedule included meetings and talks with representatives of the Bulgarian institutions.

The Concluding Statement of the mission read:

"A strong economic recovery has taken hold as Bulgaria is poised to take over the EU presidency. The challenge facing policymakers is to translate this recovery into durable and inclusive convergence of people’s incomes toward levels prevailing in the richer EU partners. This will require continued action on many fronts, notably increasing the efficiency of public institutions at all levels; remedying weaknesses in education, healthcare, and labor markets; and further strengthening the financial stability framework. Progress on all these fronts will ultimately help deliver the better, more rules-based governance toward which many in government and society have been working tirelessly in collaboration with EU partners and institutions."