Is Bulgaria Ready to Join the Eurozone?
Bulgaria's aspirations to become the 21st member of the Eurozone have sparked discussions regarding the country's economic readiness, as well as its political and institutional preparedness
Dragormir Stoynev, Minister of Economy and Energy, has argued that it is not normal for an EU Member State to have public procurement deals in a certain sector won by a circle of companies.
Speaking during a regional conference on transparency in government procurement organized by the US Embassy in Bulgaria, Stoynev emphasized that it was essential to eliminate corruption in the sphere as public procurement was a major means of accessing financial resources in times of economic crisis.
Stoynev, as cited by the BGNES news agency, suggested that there was a problem with Operational Program "Competitiveness" which was being frowned upon by Bulgarian businesses despite the fact that it was well-made, sounded good, and was very likely to be welcomed by the EU.
He emphasized the need for modernizing the economy and production by simplifying application procedures in order to prove that "public officials are not an enemy to or obstacle for Bulgarian business."
"On the contrary, public officials must assist Bulgarian business in absorbing funds, which are not an insignificant amount. It is not normal to lose money over delays in absorption," he said.
Stoynev was adamant that the dialogue with the business sector had to be restored.
"The first meetings of Prime Minister Oresharski were with nationally representative organizations of employers to discuss regulatory regimes. I have the feeling that the more talk there is about regulatory regimes, the more they tend to increase. Everybody says there is a will to tackle the problem, but they do not decrease. The problem no longer calls for will, what is necessary is urgent actions. The role of this government is to finally do the job," he stated.
"Now is the tome to do the job. There are no financial resources. There is social tension. I believe that another six months of timelessness would be detrimental to the economy," Stoynev added.
Bulgaria's Economy and Energy Minister also drew attention to the insufficient capacity both on a central and a local level.
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