- Title: BULGARIA: BULGARIA OPTIMISTIC IT WILL JOIN THE EU IN 2007
- Date: 5th May 2004
- Summary: (CEEF) SOFIA, BULGARIA (MAY 3, 2004) (REUTERS) 1. LV/SV/SLV OF PARLIAMENT BUILDING; PARLIAMENT BUILDING WITH FLAGS OF NATO COUNTRIES (3 SHOTS) 0.13 2. MCU (English) SOLOMON PASSY, MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF BULGARIA SAYING "Bulgaria is ready to join the European Union, we have only 4 more chapters to close the negotiation process and to finalise the accession, we have marked tremendous progress in three or four years and thats why we are expecting our membership on the first of January 2007" 0.35 PESHTERA, BULGARIA (RECENT) (REUTERS) 3. LV/SV/SLV BIOVET FEED AND VETERINARY MEDICINE FACTORY; FEED BEING MOVED AROUND (5 SHOTS) 1.02 4. MCU (English) DR. KRASSEN STANCHEV, PH.D., EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF INSTITUTE FOR MARKET ECONOMICS, SOFIA SAYING "In 2007 Bulgarian companies and citizens will encounter a more competitive union than we have in 2004 it will be growing faster and the key challenge for Bulgaria will be to ensure economic growth which is comparable to the new member states, in order to do so it should reduce corporate and income tax which are very high compared to other countries, and that way Bulgarian industry will not have any trouble compared to other countries" 1.33 5. SLV SOFIA STREET SCENE 1.40 6. SV (Bulgarian) IVAN EFREMOV SAYING "I am an optimist, and in my opinion joining the EU will have a positive effect on all of us" 1.51 7. SV (Bulgarian) YOUNG MOTHER WITH A BABY YULIA MILKOVA SAYING "I suppose it will be nice, but I doubt it will happen so soon, I am not certain that we will reach this standard in a few years. But I would like this to happen." 2.04 8. SLV/SV SOFIA STREET SCENES (2 SHOTS) 2.14 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
- Embargoed: 20th May 2004 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: SOFIA, BULGARIA
- Country: Bulgaria
- Reuters ID: LVAR7MHB53IA1VI6QVAVY17KA3T
- Story Text: Bulgaria optimistic it will join the EU in 2007 but
economists say more needs to be done to prepare the country.
An increasingly competitive European Union may make
it tougher for the next round of states like Bulgaria set
to join the EU in 2007.
Bulgaria and Romania are both on the fast track to EU
membership and are currently negotiating final details of
their accession.
With this weeks expansion from 15 to 25, both countries
have expressed confidence they will be ready for membership.
"Bulgaria is ready to join the European Union, we have
only 4 more chapters to close the negotiation process and
to finalise the accession, we have marked tremendous
progress in three or four years and thats why we are
expecting our membership on the first of January 2007",
said Bulgarian Foreign Minister Solomon Passy on Monday
(May 3, 2004).
But economists say the momentum of the current 25 will
mean EU members-to-be will have to keep up with EU
economies without the full benefits of current membership.
"In 2007 Bulgarian companies and citizens will
encounter a more competitive Union than we have in 2004. It
will be growing faster and the key challenge for Bulgaria
will be to ensure economic growth which is comparable to
the new member states, in order to do so, it should reduce
corporate and income tax which are very high compared to
other countries, and that way Bulgarian industry will not
have any trouble compared to other countries", said economist Dr.
Krassen Stanchev, Executive Director of the
Institure for Market Economics in Sofia.
Bulgaria has worked hard to abandon the legacy of state
owned industry, but with high taxes and surging trade gap
of 9.8 percent of GDP, industries are being pushed to focus
on exports and keep costs down.
Some companies like Biovet, which manufactures feed and
medicines for veterinary use have made smooth
transformations.
Opened during the socialist era, today 95 percent of its
production is exported, an example of a smooth transition
from state owned to privately run business.
Bulgaria's economy grew by 4.3 percent year-on-year in
2003 just below government expectations of 4.5 percent,
data from the statistics office showed this week,
Bulgaria's main economic mentor, the International
Monetary Fund, warned the central bank in November last
year that the current pace of lending could inflate the
consumption of imported goods, increasing the country's
foreign indebtedness and posing a threat to the currency
board system in the country.
Bulgaria's currency is pegged to the euro under an
IMF-brokered currency board introduced in 1997.
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