Bulgaria is consolidating its role as an active participant in regional cooperation, the Acting Minister of Economy and Industry believes

Undoubtedly, our country has strengthened and continues to strengthen its role as an active participant in regional cooperation and its positions as a key factor for stability and security in our region. This was said by the Acting Minister of Economy and Industry, Petko Nikolov, emphasizing that Eastern Europe offers a number of opportunities for economic growth, and for him there is no doubt that Bulgaria will be the basis of the development of the region. Nikolov took part in the Vienna Economic Forum – Sofia Meeting 2024, which takes place in the “Boyana” residence.

“Unfortunately, the covid pandemic and recent military conflicts have shown that the European Union (EU) is too dependent on supplies of raw materials, goods, services from third countries. In this context, increasing European autonomy is essential for economic and financial stability Nikolov pointed out.

As other essential factors for stability, he singled out the rapid adaptation to the dynamically changing environment and, above all, the guarantee of stable regional sustainability and connectivity.

According to the economic minister, every country must make efforts to ensure European autonomy. In this regard, Bulgaria emphasizes the important role of an effective industrial policy of the Union, which is able to stimulate important competitive industries in order to strengthen the industrial base of Europe and ensure strategic and important supply chains.

“The goal is to reduce the EU’s dependence on third countries for energy, raw materials, equipment, key technologies, digital products, food, as well as to create an opportunity to diversify the markets from which the EU makes supplies,” commented Nikolov.

In his opinion, to overcome the difficulties in this direction, it is necessary to increase the production capacity along the value chains and to modernize the production technologies. Of great importance in these processes are investments in human capital, which is the basis of industrial success, as well as investments in infrastructure, in green connectivity, in industrial zones, which are an important and key aspect of the region, the Acting Minister of Economy pointed out.

According to him, regarding regional connectivity, the lack of infrastructural connections and the difficult trade and exchange of goods are the result of the unfinished process of the integration of the countries of the Western Balkans into the EU. On the other hand, Nikolov reports that by entering with their sea and air borders, Bulgaria and Romania became part of the Schengen area, but full integration in it will undoubtedly contribute to more effective regional, transport, energy and digital connectivity. “Our full accession to Schengen will also increase the economic security of all countries in the region. Any postponement of this full membership will be the cause of greater lost benefits for both the Bulgarian and Romanian countries, as well as for the economies of the region,” commented the official Minister.

He cites data from various studies and reports, according to which the total effect of our country’s full accession to Schengen is estimated at around and over 1 billion euros per year. This means that with each year of delay, businesses operating in the region and citizens lose these funds.

Nikolov emphasized that Bulgaria supports the accession to the EU of all the countries of the Western Balkans region. “We also encourage the development of joint initiatives that would create more opportunities for citizens and businesses in the region,” added the Acting Minister of Economy.

He opined that strengthening and expanding regional, transport and energy connectivity is very key to address broken supply chains of goods as well as energy resources. “This is why the countries of the region must respond quickly to this challenge by implementing more projects of regional connectivity and cooperation in energy, transport, digital connectivity and many others,” Nikolov said.

In this regard, he identified the Vienna Economic Forum initiative as an example of successful regional cooperation. According to the minister of economy, the implementation of joint initiatives and the increase of regional connectivity will contribute to the economic development not only of our region, but also of the whole of Europe.