At the meeting held between President Rosen Plevneliev and the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina Denis Zvizdic and the leadership of the two chambers of Parliament of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the opportunities for an increase of the economic exchange, our country’s support for the European integration of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the experience Bulgaria has gained in EU funds management were highlighted. The Head of State reiterated Bulgaria’s support for the European integration of the Western Balkan countries.
We can win the investors’ trust only by ensuring the security of the investments made, Rosen Plevneliev said and emphasized that the major factor guaranteeing stability in the Western Balkans is ensuring EU prospects for all countries in the region. The Bulgarian President said that the whole region will benefit from attracting companies of strategic importance in one of the Southeast European countries. This will lead to opening up tens of production facilities of its related contractors. “For Bulgaria these are the companies that produce components for the car industry and are suppliers of all big car producers in Europe,” the Head of State said.
The President emphasized that despite the difficulties Bulgaria experienced in the first years of its EU accession, the harmonization of the Bulgarian legislation with the functioning rules in the EU and establishing standards of production and business are among its most important achievements. “Although we are not perfect and there is much more to do, we are on the right road and we are working to ensure that the quality of life would be better not only for the Bulgarian people, but also for all people in the region,” the Head of State emphasized. The President also highlighted the better position Bulgaria has in the transparent absorption of EU funds, stressing that currently Bulgaria ranks among the first EU member states in this respect.
The Head of State invited representatives of the government of Bosnia and Herzegovina to visit Bulgaria so as to discuss the transit of meat and diary products through our country to the Middle East. “The solution of this issue should be in compliance with the European standards and the EU legislation,” Rosen Plevneliev further added.
Bosnia and Herzegovina is getting ready to implement a lot of reforms related to European integration both in terms of improving the business environment, and in terms of assisting the activities of the SMEs and adopting programs for encouraging youth employment, the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina Denis Zvizdic said. He voiced his country’s readiness to organize joint business meetings of the business representatives, at which concrete investment projects in the two countries will be discussed.
The Stabilization and Association Agreement with the EU is due to come into force and representatives of the state institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina voiced their willingness to share our country’s experience in the management of EU funds. “It is very important that we join the EU prepared, because this is the only way we can be competitive at a market with 500 million consumers. We would like to learn both from your success and from the mistakes you have made so as to avoid a loss of the funds we have envisaged,” the parliamentary representatives of Bosnia and Herzegovina told the Head of State.
At the meetings with President Rosen Plevneliev, the representatives of the state institutions in Sarajevo voiced their gratitude to the Bulgarian Head of State for the friendly attitude and the timely support Bulgaria offered after the severe floods in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2014.