site.btaMEP Eva Maydell to BTA: Bulgaria Can Benefit from EU Competitiveness Compass If It Develops Strategic Sectors

Bulgaria stands to gain from the Competitiveness Compass presented by the European Commission on January 29 if it has economic sectors that are designated as strategic, Bulgarian MEP Eva Maydell told BTA in an interview. Noting that Europe lags considerably behind the United States in the high-tech economy, Maydell said the EU should reconsider its priorities when preparing its next budget. She expects the European Parliament to use constructive criticism during the debate on the Commission's proposals.

Below is the full text of the interview:

Q: The proposals of the European Commission about curbing bureaucracy and minimizing the obstacles to businesses have drawn mixed reactions. What is your take?

A: We, the group of the European People's Party and my GERB party, have been saying for years that the European Commission's priorities should change. They should address Europe's low growth and the low productivity of our companies, and the capacity of our traditional industries to adopt new technologies in their mechanisms, production activities and working methods.

We were looking forward to the Competitiveness Compass. A more critical look at it will show that, still, the goals do not seem to be completely clear, the things we want to achieve. On the one hand, we say that our biggest problem is the deficit of innovation in Europe, and on the other hand, we hold that our problems are related to the high prices of electricity and the low productivity of our traditional industries. To some extent, this is a contradiction because having industries with high productivity and a potential for innovation requires overcoming several fundamental problems. One of them is the high prices of electricity, another one has to do with the many bureaucratic requirements for companies. Even if we deal with these two main challenges, this will not necessarily be accomplished in the early months of the new European Commission. The question remains, how do we go about adopting technologies?

We say we will prioritize innovation, but our problems also have other causes which we need to address as well. We want clearer priorities from the Commission, a clear concept about what we are trying to do. Should we make it easier for companies to develop, or should we keep telling them what to do? The proposals are largely unexplained, and no reason is given for making them.

I accept the proposals, but not unconditionally. I agree that it is important to want to achieve growth in Europe again, but I am not sure that we realize where Europe really stands in the world today and which principal industries drive the economies of the US and China – that is to say, which are the technology industries.

Mario Draghi's report indicates that the most important reason for the absence of growth in Europe is its underdeveloped technology industry. Even if we bring electricity prices down, which is crucial, and even if we reduce the bureaucratic burden, we will still need to develop the technology industry. As an MEP who has spent some time working on these matters, I can say that the technology industry cannot be built with regulations. It grows organically from the ecosystem. The role of the institutions is to help remove obstacles and support the Single Market.

Q: How can the Competitiveness Compass help Bulgaria?

A: We gather from the Competitiveness Compass that much greater priority will be set on funding technologies that are strategic for Europe. If Bulgaria has sectors which can be categorized as strategic, such that are related to artificial intelligence, high technology, we can really benefit from the strategy.

Q: What will be the role of the European Parliament?

A: Constructive criticism, I hope. I do not want to draw a parallel with the roadmap which was presented by the European Commission for the Green Deal five years ago. Back then, some of us in the European Parliament, including myself, were highly critical of the way those goals were supposed to be achieved. I try to see the Compass partly from a critical perspective because it includes proposals, issues and goals that are much too general. I do not think that with such general messages and goals we can achieve results and show that Europe is open to investment and business and can help our companies.

Q: Why are the planned changes necessary? Has the EU gone too far with its regulations, or is it the geopolitical shift that requires such a move?

A: The reasons are many. The way we need to look at our economy has changed in recent years. Technology has changed the way in which economies develop. In many ways, Europe has lost the race. The other global partners and nations are doing everything to improve their business climate. Europe should think of a response.

Statistical data of the last 15 years show that the euro area countries have minimal total growth compared with the US, whose economy has grown by 30-40%. There is a big difference in the way the two economies develop. The US boasts one of the most developed technology industries in the world.

The application of this roadmap depends on the willingness of the EU countries to prioritize these matters and the structure of the next EU budget.