site.btaContinue the Change Co-Leader Petkov, Finance Minister Vassilev Participate in Davos Discussion on Rethinking Ports as Hubs

Continue the Change (CC) co-leader Kiril Petkov and Bulgarian Finance Minister Vassilev participated in a Davos discussion on retking ports as hubs and the strategic importance of Greece, the Balkans and Europe, said the CC press office Wednesday. Infrastructure and connectivity were in the focus of Petkov's remarks. "The more Bulgaria, Romania and Greece pool their efforts for an integrated and well developed infrastructure, the faster the welfare of the people in each of these countries will grow," he said.

He also said: "If you have access to diverse energy sources, you become politically and economically independent. Bulgaria has removed its dependence on Russian gas from 95% to 0%. When Russia is not focused, the Balkans grow."

He also talked about the past delays in the construction of the Bulgaria-Greece gas interconnector and the cross-Danube bridges with Romania, which delay, he said was due to economic and political dependencies. Petkov is adamant that, "Infrastructure development can allow the Balkans as a region to achieve the highest GDP growth in Europe." 

Finance Minister Assen Vassilev is quoted as saying that Bulgaria is a large special economic zone. "With its flat tax of 10% Bulgaria is a big exception in Europe. Our country does not have a problem with economic growth and tax collection, but is hampered by infrastructure," Vassilev said. 

He argued that Bulgaria is failing to make the most of its economic potential because of the lack of infrastructure. "Analyses show that if the problems with infrastructure are eliminated and full Schengen is achieved, we will increase our GDP by 3% to 5%," Vassilev added. 

The finance minister presented detailed data on the heavy traffic in the Balkans, despite the lack of well-developed infrastructure, and stressed the need for investment in this departmenet. "The Bulgarian-Turkish border has the second biggest traffic after the traffic between the US and Mexico. Every day 4,000 trucks pass through it. Traffic has been growing by 20% to 40% in recent years," the minister added.