site.btaPrime Minister Talks with European Employment Commissioner

Prime Minister Talks with European Employment Commissioner

Sofia, December 3 (BTA) - Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov met with European Employment Commissioner Marianne Thyssen in Sofia on Thursday, the Cabinet's Press Service reported.

Borissov expressed his expectation that the Sofia-hosted 5th ASEM Labour and Employment Ministers' Conference (December 3-4) provides a good environment for fruitful dialogue. He said this is the first major event in the format of ASEM (the Asia-Europe Meeting) to be hosted by Bulgaria. He noted that Asia-Europe cooperation in this format is efficient and provides an opportunity to debate various important issues of global concern which cannot be solved by individual countries. Bulgaria offers good conditions for such dialogue, considering its EU membership and its friendship and interaction with a number of Asian nations in such areas as the economy, education and historical heritage, he said.

The Prime Minister updated the European Employment Commissioner on the Bulgarian pension system reform. He laid particular emphasis on the latest revisions to the Social Insurance Code, made in July, and the measures taken to ensure the financial stability of the social security system and streamline pensions. The Bulgarian Labour and Social Policy Ministry is working with the International Labour Organization to create and implement a mechanism for determining the size of the minimum wage, Borissov said.

He reviewed the country's progress in absorbing EU funding. He expressed his confidence that Bulgaria will fully utilize the aid available under Operational Programme "Human Resources Development 2007-2013," which means that the country will become a leader in this respect. So far, 94 per cent of the payments to the beneficiaries of the programme have been effected, and the European Commission has refunded 95 per cent of the total amount. Over nearly eight years of its implementation, the programme has helped more than 1.5 million Bulgarians, including over a million children and students.

Its sequel for 2014-2020 was the first Operational Programme to be launched in Bulgaria in the new programming period and it is the only one so far to have projects in place, Borissov said. The procedures which have already started under Operational Programme "Human Resources Development 2014-2020" are for 536 million leva in grant aid, and the contracts signed and orders issued so far are worth 158.8 million leva.

Borissov and Thyssen praised the new EU instrument for fighting poverty and social exclusion. According to them, the fund which assists the neediest people will help implement many policies that can produce tangible results.