The fundamental problem is the lack of strategic vision and coherence in the implementation of objectives and programmes.
Silviya Todorova, Director of the Centre "Entrepreneurship" at the Bulgarian Industrial Association
The EU economy will grow by 0.7% in 2023 and 1.6% in 2024, with Bulgaria forecast to grow by 1% in 2023 and 1.7% in 2024. The European Union and the euro area respectively are our leading economic and trade partner, so every slowdown and problem in these countries and organisations leads to a corresponding slowdown and problems with our economy. This was commented by Silvia Todorova, Director of the Centre "Entrepreneurship" at the Bulgarian Industrial Association for Bloomberg TV Bulgaria.
The fundamental problem is not the external factors that continuously exist and affect the economy of our country, but the lack of strategic vision and consistency in the implementation of goals and programs that are priorities for our country.
It is interesting that the revision is more favourable for the countries that are outside the European area, especially on two of the indicators - unemployment and indebtedness. The GDP growth and inflation indicators are better for countries that are part of the euro area.
There are traditional factors that influence the data, but there are also those that have emerged in connection with the existing geopolitical situation and the reduction in access to energy resources, although they are currently at a pretty good level, but if you look at the futures on the European Energy Exchange for the last quarter of this year and for the first quarter of 2024 - the values are around 120 euros per megawatt hour for the different EU countries. Another significant problem is the existence of policies and measures that are being made by our partner countries, outside the EU, which are pulling out some of the businesses that operate and are traditionally represented in our country.
"Foreign direct investment in the EU fell in 2021 compared to 2019 by 68%, whereas in the same period, which includes the Covid crisis and restrictions, in the US it rose by 63%. This means that some policies and activities that are leading the way in the EU are not well suited to support the competitiveness of European businesses."
The challenges that open up for the EU economy are related to the so-called double transition of digital and green economy and the huge amount of regulations that are proposed and accepted as a necessity for businesses to comply with.
