Bulgarian minister of economy visits AUBG

Traycho Traykov, the Bulgarian Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism, gave a lecture in the New Academic Building (NAB) Auditorium on April 22. The topic of the presentation was "How can the government stimulate the sustainable growth of the Bulgarian Economy?" The event was organized by AUBG Business club.

Traykov said that the ten percent flat tax rate in Bulgaria is good enough to stimulate the economy through foreign investments. Such investments would have to function in the context of good infrastructure, rule of law and education, he added.

"Since the middle of last year, the business sentiment and behavior which is measured by Eurostat has been constantly improving. This might look counter-intuitive but it is a fact. In a recent study Ernst and Young found out that from the perspective of potential and incumbent investors in the region of South Eastern Europe, in terms of expectations for the next three years, Bulgaria ranks first," Traykov said.

In 2008 the capital investments in Bulgaria accounted for 34 percent of the GDP, which was the best of all EU member states. In 2009 that came down to 24 percent, which was still among the top in the EU. For 2010, it is expected to be 22 percent, compared to the EU average of 19 percent, said Traykov, citing information from Eurostat. "Objectively speaking, there are good things which have happened to the Bulgarian economy, but there is a lot to do related to the rule of law, infrastructure and education […]. The regional development ministry is doing a great job and it is very likely to have a finished highway in the mandate of this government," Traykov said.

"Bulgaria is one of the richest countries in Europe in terms of potential for tourism development. In the skiing industry, we have potential for another ten considerable size resorts […] Bulgaria is the fourth richest country in the world in terms of hot mineral springs; we have 600 mineral springs, and 140 of them have already had some resorts around them," Traykov said. He mentioned Bulgaria offers many other attractions such as religious monuments, hunting grounds and cultural events and establishments.

The Minister of Economy explained that the Bulgarians' perception as a nation has traditionally been not so positive. "When I spoke off-the-record with high ranking officials in Brussels, and asked them which the most corrupt country in the EU was, they wouldn’t say Bulgaria or Romania; if I asked them which the country with the highest crime rate was, they wouldn’t say Bulgaria or Romania either," Traykov said.

"In Bulgaria traditionally it isn’t popular to say that you have to save energy. Nevertheless the commitment within the EU that we have made is to achieve 50 percent improvement in energy efficiency by 2020," Traykov said.

He explained that the 75,000 condominiums made out of concrete in the country are energy inefficient. If that situation would be improved, the amount saved would be in the area of 3,000 megawatts, which is the same amount that three units of the nuclear power plant in Kozloduy would produce in a year. "The cheapest energy is the one that you don’t waste," he added.