EU Commissioner Ferreira to Bulgaria: The EU gives a chance that is once a generation
Eng. Plamen Panchev discussed with Commissioner Ferreira the European support for Bulgaria
The director and founder of “Trakia Economic Zone” Eng. Plamen Panchev was a panelist in the video conference organized by EURACTIV Bulgaria on 18.02.2021. The opportunities provided by the EU budget and the € 1.8 trillion Recovery Plan happen once a generation. This was commented by EU Commissioner for Cohesion and Reform Eliza Ferreira during the forum. The topic is especially relevant given the fact that in early February Bulgaria sent to the European Commission a second working draft of its plan, writes euractiv.bg, the independent pan-European media network based in Brussels. The criticism in the country is that the Bulgarian government is about to squander lightly the opportunities and the huge European funding. Eliza Ferreira talks about the opportunities that the Recovery Plan provides to Bulgaria.
“Bulgaria’s success is an important element of the success of the whole of Europe. There are also prerequisites for it to materialize – the grants to which Bulgaria receives access amount to EUR 6.3 billion (about 10% of GDP). The total amount could increase to over 10 billion euros if the country decides to use the support in the form of loans”, Ferreira commented.
Deputy Minister of Regional Development Denitsa Nikolova, MEP Andrey Novakov (GERB, EPP), Petar Ganev from the Institute for Market Economy also presented their theses during the conference with moderator former Deputy Prime Minister Ivaylo Kalfin.
Eng. Plamen Panchev announced that Plovdiv, Burgas, Gabrovo and Haskovo are working on a project Consortium Carbon-neutral industrial parks to attract investment. The goal is to develop „green“ production and achieve the EC’s goals for reducing carbon emissions by 2030. Panchev asked EU Commissioner Ferreira if the EC has a mechanism for creating a network of such parks – to exchange experiences and good practices. Krassimir Petkov, a businessman who has been involved in robotics in the United States and Bulgaria for 30 years, also joined the discussion, and his country’s Milara International in Trakia Economic Zone is currently assembling the country’s first electric trucks. With joint efforts the first robotics laboratory was opened in Plovdiv, training in the specialty “Electromobility” is being prepared. So far, investments in Trakia Economic Zone amount to 3 billion euros.
