site.btaCommissioner Hahn: Refugee Crisis Remains Biggest Challenge for EU

Commissioner Hahn: Refugee Crisis Remains Biggest Challenge for EU

Sofia, January 19 (BTA) - At present, the refugee crisis remains the biggest challenge for the EU, EU Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn
said during the Tenth Annual Government Meets the Business conference in Sofia.

Over 60 million people have been relocated so far, according to conservative data. Of these around 20 million are at the physical borders of the EU. This is a global challenge, which puts the EU to the test.

The challenge has such dimensions that no country could cope on its own and EU should work as a united state in order to resolve the problem.

The Commissioner said further he is aware that slow decision-making at EU level has an adverse effect on the region and appealed to all European leaders to take the necessary decisions. The strengthening of the external borders should have already been a fact; there is no time to waste and the moment for action has come, he noted.

Hahn underscored that Europe's main goal is to guarantee border security and convince the EU finance ministers to approve the necessary funds for coping with the problem. It is of key importance to support initiatives, which will help the emigrants stay in the region and integrate. Bulgaria is acquiring the function of important interface between the Western Balkans and the rest of Europe and voiced conviction that the countries would be able to overcome the crises together.

The Commissioner voiced regret that many countries in the region are still faced with serious challenges, particularly, in the field of supremacy of the law and the independence and accountability of courts.

He stressed the high percentage of absorption of EU funds in Bulgaria and defined it as remarkable achievement.

In his address to the forum President Rosen Plevneliev noted the need for urgent reforms such as a working system for justice administration, electronic services and electronic governance, total transparency in public procurement, anti-corruption legislation. In Plevneliev's words, the reform of the judiciary is at the centre of everything. He said that the business climate in Bulgaria and in the region could be much more better.

Despite the risks, the Bulgarian economy develops well, he said. By way of example the head of State listed several figures: economic growth of 2.8 per cent in 2015, a 12 per cent increase in exports, a 40 per cent growth in foreign investment, 2,800 million leva more in budget revenue. The budget deficit dropped to 2.6 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product, unemployment is the lowest since 2009, the gross external debt decreased to approximately 80 per cent, the government debt is under 30 per cent, the third lowest in the EU.

Plevneliev pointed out the following upcoming EU integration projects for Bulgaria: the country's accession to the Schengen Area, the launching of procedures for joining the Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM II) and subsequent membership of the Eurozone, the launching of the European Energy Union, mostly in the region of Southeastern Europe and the accession to the Single Supervisory Mechanism of the European Banking Authority.

Addressing the event, Prime Minister Boyko Borissov said that he was very optimistic about the financial and economic stability of Bulgaria, unless, however, "we mess things up". The Prime Minister said that the nearly 7,000 million leva in EU funding that Bulgaria absorbed last year will start now to work for the country's economy so that in 2016-2017 the businesses will produce more high-quality and more competitive goods which will drive exports up.

Borissov dwelled on energy issues, and relayed the development of the situation with the scrapped South Stream gas pipeline project, "the circumventing of Bulgaria by the planned Turkish Stream pipeline and the tacit consent of Greece, Macedonia and Serbia whereby this country is punished for having been a truly loyal Euro-Atlantic partner and for having complied with the rules of the European Commission". Borissov said that things have now changed and construction is going ahead of the gas interconnectors with Greece, Serbia, Romania and Turkey.

Dwelling on the reform of the judiciary, the Prime Minister said the government has set itself the goal whereby five bills reach Parliament: the judicial power bill, the anti-corruption bill, the penal code, the code of criminal procedure and the anti-terrorism bill.
 
Addressing the participants, Finance Minister Vladislav Goranov said that there is potential for higher growth than the one, reported at present. "Growth should range between two and three per cent next year and, if we restore people's confidence, it could be even higher," he observed. Goranov noted the end of the tendency of depreciation of houses and the changed conduct of the business, which has become rational and balanced, as factors for achieving such growth.

The review of the quality of the assets and the related stress tests will be the banking sector event for 2016, Dimiter Radev, Governor of the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB), commented. Radev said that the results are expected to be ready in August 2016, when the results of the overall inspections and the measures undertaken to address possible problems will be announced. "We expect that the review would confirm the stability of the banking system," Radev commented.