NEWS

Bulgaria has achieved a lot in the past 25 years. However, hard work should be done on the reforms in the healthcare, education, justice and security sectors. This is what President Rosen Plevneliev said at a meeting with Barbara Stamm, president of the parliament of Bavaria. The Head of State is on a working visit to Munich to take part in the Security Conference which celebrates its 50th anniversary.

 

The President acquainted the representatives of the Bavarian parliament with Bulgaria’s macroeconomic results and the political situation in the country. Rosen Plevneliev said that in the past two years the trade between Bulgaria and Bavaria has grown by approximately 2 percent per year. More then 900 German companies from Bavaria are already working in Bulgaria. The highlighted sectors that have a serious potential for encouraging cooperation are the production of automobile parts, agriculture, energy efficiency, policy for the development of clusters and others.

 

 Barbara Stamm, president of the parliament of Bavaria, acquainted the Head of State with the measures taken on a federal and regional level to curb the so-called “poverty immigration”, which according to the German Assembly deputies is the reason for the illegal siphoning off of the German social system. According to Stamm, a differentiated approach to the immigrants should be adopted and sanctions should be equally imposed on all who misuse social funds.

 

Barbara Stamm emphasized that Germany benefits from the highly qualified immigrants. The issues the Bavarian Assembly deputies are most interested in are namely the policy in the sphere of the integration of the Roma and the forecasts for increasing the flow of migrants to Western Europe after the restrictions on the labor market for Bulgarians and Romanians were lifted. President Rosen Plevneliev said that Bulgaria is actively working to integrate the Roma, including by utilizing European funds, so that they can get access to education, profession and employment.

 

Rosen Plevneliev told Barbara Stamm that the Bulgarian Roma are a small percent compared to the immigrants from the Roma communities from other Central and Eastern European countries. The Head of State said that he discussed these issues with French President Francois Holland and with British Prime Minister David Cameron. 

 

The President added that there are many big companies in Bulgaria which look for highly qualified specialists. Therefore, Plevneliev emphasized, the connection between the business circles and education should be strengthened so that staff which the real sector needs can be trained. In this respect the successful German model may be applied – implementing the dual system of professional education and training. Germany’s experience shows that this approach is an effective measure for reducing youth unemployment, which is the main problem Europe is facing as a result of the economic crisis.

Statement by Head of State Iliana Iotova

For projects aimed at improving connectivity between Bulgaria and Turkiye must be viewed as a whole, to be successful, and within the context of closer cooperation in Southeastern Europe. This will bolster both economic development and security in the region, whose strategic importance is growing. This was stated by President Iliana Iotova at a meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, who is on a formal visit to Bulgaria.

Albulena Haxhiu expressed her gratitude to President Iotova for Bulgaria’s support on Kosovo’s path toward membership in NATO and the European Union.

Iliana Iotova raised the issue of depopulation in the area along the Bulgarian-Serbian border and highlighted the need for investment to counter the adverse demographic trend.