"The Bulgarian government has set as its main goals the acceptance of our country into the Schengen area and entry into the Eurozone and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)" . This was said by Finance Minister Asen Vassilev during a meeting with a group of prominent American companies, which included US Ambassador to Bulgaria Kenneth Merten.The group includes officials from firms in the defense, healthcare, cyber security, energy, construction, and telecommunications sectors, among others, according to the Ministry of Finance.
According to the minister, our membership into Schengen would instantly result in a 3% increase in economic growth since it would remove the current barriers to trade development caused by logistical challenges at the border. He said that our nation will help build the North-South infrastructural corridor, which will connect the Mediterranean with Northern Europe, Moldova, and Ukraine from Greece to Romania. According to Minister Vasilev, this project is critical to connection in South-Eastern Europe, and it will cost more than 6 billion euros.
Our complete participation in the Eurozone and the OECD will help to our country's economic progress and well-being, says Asen Vasilev, who is certain that Bulgarian institutions are doing all possible to make this happen. He stated that he expected these efforts to result in economic development and more visibility for our nation, as well as Bulgaria's complete membership in the European institutional framework. According to his projections, the effects might be equal to the 6-8% annual GDP growth and rise in foreign direct investment that happened following our entry to NATO and the EU between 2004 and 2007.
The Minister of Finance introduced American businesses to our country's competitive advantages as an investment destination and expressed his hope that their representative offices would operate in our country very soon. He noted that our country has a low public debt of 22% of GDP, the second lowest in the EU, as well as a deficit of less than 3%. According to him, our country's competitiveness for investments is enhanced by the 10% flat tax and the predictable tax perspective. Furthermore, we have our own energy infrastructure, which assures low energy carrier values. Bulgaria is a European Union leader in terms of export growth and industrial production. The expansion of a number of industrial sectors, the finance minister promised, is a substantial benefit for establishing company here. He also stated that salaries in our nation are fast rising and warned that while Bulgaria is an appealing and predictable site for investment, cheap labor is not one of them. Asen Vasilev expressed his expectation that this meeting will mark the start of a true cooperation and the next step in Bulgarian-American ties. /BGNES
