Strategy 2020 of President-elect

published on 12/15/11 1:44 PM

Photo: BGNES

“Ten priorities like the ten Commandments,” Bulgaria’s president-elect Rosen Plevneliev said in a jovial manner, when he announced his plans for Bulgaria’s long-term development. He said that on the first day of his term in office, January 23, 2012, he will launch a round of consultations on national accord on key issues regarding the country’s future. He said that “investors set aside countries that spend a great deal easily and conveniently from the stable economies”. In his words Bulgaria was a stable state, and the only thing it lacked was a long-term policy.

“There is a perfect storm raging on in Europe, the financial, economic and debt crisis,” he told Bulgaria’s business leaders in a meeting. “The debt crisis is the most dangerous of the three, because it has the worst impact on the economy. As a result consumption will decrease. We cannot expect a rapid increase in economic growth, we shall rather experience a gradual recovery, because the business will not be very eager to invest in the opening of new jobs, and will be cautious instead. Whereas investments do create jobs. They provide us instantly with international know-how for which other countries had struggled dozens of years to obtain.”
His utmost priority will be justice, i.e. a working law-enforcement system that will prove that “Bulgaria is a safe place for investments and for doing business”. His second priority will be the rapid improvement in business environment.
“Bulgaria may become a drawing magnet for investors because we are a stable country, and because we shall improve the business environment,” president-elect Rosen Plevneliev went on to say. “We currently rank 74th in doing business, but we ought to climb to 50th place by 2020. We need to be aware that we need to be more active to attract new investments.”
The rich countries have working institutions. They guarantee the existence of rules, of a competitive business environment and an equal start for all. Therefore, the administrative reform and the introduction of e-government ought to become the third priority. Infrastructure is the fourth, and energy efficiency, independence and liberalization, the fifth one. It will help augment the wealth of the Bulgarians, and will create dozens of thousands of jobs with added value at a time when SMEs account for 72% of the employment. “Bulgaria has a population of 7.4 million and 2.8 million families. They possess 3.2 million units of housing. Our ambition is to sanitate at least 1 million housing units, 50 sq. m., which will increase their price by some EUR 100. All in all we shall increase the revenues of the Bulgarians by EUR 15 billion. It will help also cut down the living costs of some 1 million Bulgarian households, which will be spent on consumer goods instead. The sixth priority will be regional development, while the seventh is related to Bulgaria’s image making and promotion. Science, education and innovations are key to economic growth, and are, too, therefore a priority with the term of office of Bulgaria’s newly elected president.
“There are 2.7 million employed Bulgarians, of whom only 500 000 work in the value added sectors,” Rosen Plevneliev pointed out. “They are the agents of economic growth and consumption during the crisis. We ought to direct their attention to them. Regardless of the sphere, be it information technologies, pharmaceutical industry, or machine engineering, these sectors maintained their stability throughout the crisis. Innovations mean higher added value, and also a richer state.”
The nation’s cultural and spiritual development will also be on the list of priorities of Rosen Plevneliev’s term in office as head of state. The last of his ‘commandments’ is the assistance to industries that generate economic growth.
“In the past couple of years the Bulgarian economy proved it was flexible and adaptable. It switched from credit leasing, construction and development of shopping malls and residence buildings, and the purchase of luxury yachts to exports. The volume of Bulgarian exports has expanded by 40% year-on-year, which is an excellent achievement for the Bulgarian economy and a compliment to the Bulgarian business executives, who reacted in a very flexible way,” Rosen Plevneliev said in conclusion.
Written by Tanya Harizanova
English version by Radostin Zhelev

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Strategy 2020 of President-elect

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