The European Commission predicts acceleration of economic growth in Bulgaria to 3.3% in 2019 and 3.4% in 2020, with annual inflation of 2%. According to economists from the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, despite the slowdown in growth, it remains above the average level for the EU countries, but among the lowest among the new member states. At a forum in Sofia, economist Krasen Stanchev said that Bulgaria's EU membership has been the longest period of economic growth for Bulgaria. For the past 20 years, Bulgaria has become 4 times richer, while incomes have increased threefold. If in 1999 the average income of the population was 23% of that in the EU, it is now 52%. Bulgaria is also the country with the largest share of foreign investments in the EU as they account for 80% of GDP, Stanchev said.