05 août 2007
PM Stanishev: There is consistent policy for opening new roads and border checkpoints between Bulgaria and Greece
| 4 August 2007 | 17:42 | FOCUS News Agency |
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Smolyan. The policy for opening new roads and border checkpoints that connect Bulgaria and Greece is consistent, which is natural as we are both member states of the EU and free movement of people and goods from both countries should be provided, PM Sergei Stanishev announced at the 101th border pyramid where he was to see the state of the future border road Gorna Arda – Paranesti, Radio FOCUS – Smolyan reported. |
03 mai 2007
Bulgaria and Greece to intensify bilateral relations in defense industry
| 23 April 2007 | 11:53 | FOCUS News Agency |
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Sofia. The day of Bulgarian and Greek defense industries is the first step towards a more intense cooperation between the two counties in all aspects, deputy defense minister Simeon Nikolov announced upon the opening of the forum, a journalist of FOCUS News Agency reported. Mr. Nikolov reminded that the two countries signed a military cooperation agreement in 1991. |
22 février 2007
Papoulias: 'golden age' in Greek-Bulgarian relations
SOFIA (ANA-MPA - N. Megadoukas) Relations between Greece and Bulgaria were now entering a 'golden age', President of the Hellenic Republic Karolos Papoulias said on Monday, the first day of an official visit to Greece's northern neighbour.
In joint statements with Bulgarian President Georgi Purvanov, the two men said that this was the best period in the history of bilateral relations between the two countries.
Papoulias also pointed to the prospects of Greece, Bulgaria and Romania creating a 'Balkan nucleus' within the European Union, following Bulgaria and Romania's accession to the EU on January 1, 2007.
They had earlier held talks on the full range of bilateral issues, which then continued with the participation of delegations from both sides that included Macedonia-Thrace Minister George Kalantzis, Deputy Finance Minister Petros Doukas and Development Minister Tassos Nerantzis.
Papoulias is scheduled to stay in Bulgaria until Wednesday afternoon, after which he departs for a three-day official visit to Romania ending on Friday.
The visit also comes hard on the heels of an agreement initialled by Greece, Bulgaria and Russia last week for the construction of the Burgas-Alexandroupolis oil pipeline, which is due to be officially signed by the three sides in Athens this March.
Papoulias invited Purvanov to attend the signing ceremony in Athens, stressing that he will also attend - not least because he had also contributed to the early stages of the agreement when he was Greece's foreign minister.
The Greek president underlined his satisfaction that the pipeline project was finally on the verge of being realised, after several years of effort.
Purvanov, on his part, told reporters that he had received "assurances" from teams handling the negotiations regarding the oil pipeline project that the "basic problems had been overcome" and that the three sides were now heading toward a final signature of the agreement.
"I want to clearly state that Bulgaria is making every effort to promote this project. At the same time, I want to underline that this plan is one of several that must be carried out in the effort to seek different energy sources, not just for our own region but for all of Europe," he said.
The Bulgarian president noted that the project held the promise of greater prosperity and was a guarantee for security in the region.
Purvanov's reference to further development of nuclear power by Bulgaria, however, was greeted with reservations by the Greek president. Responding to questions about a possible reopening of sections of Bulgaria's nuclear power plant in Kozloduy, Papoulias stressed that this was a domestic issue that was also linked to the country's adherence to Community regulations.
Both Papoulias and Purvanov stressed the importance of opening new crossing points on the Greek-Bulgarian border for bilateral relations on all levels and said that several potential areas of cooperation remained unexploited, such as in tourism. Purvanov said the two sides could also cooperate in the defence industry and in civilian protection.
Referring to possible cooperation within the EU, Papoulias said the new 'Balkan nucleus' created by the entry of Romania and Bulgaria to the Community gave them additional clout when it came to "pushing for what Europeans must do for the Balkan peninsula".
Asked about the future status of Kosovo, Purvanov said that this was discussed with Papoulias and he echoed Athens' position in favour of a solution that was mutually acceptable to both Belgrade and Pristina.
He stressed that a solution must take into account the interests of Kosovo's population, as well as Pristina's relations with Belgrade and the surrouding region.
"We do not agree with a solution that identifies with ethnically pure states, because in the Balkans such a solution is not possible," Purvanov added.
According to Bulgaria's president, a solution to the problems of the western Balkans should be sought in the 2002 Thessaloniki Agenda on EU enlargement, which confirmed their European perspective and pledged to support their efforts in this direction, including an enhanced economic strategy that bound them to new forms of cooperation.
http://www.ana.gr/anaweb/user/showplain?maindoc=5060687&maindocimg=5060123&service=100
31 décembre 2006
Greek firms upbeat about prospects in EU newcomers
Prevailing view is new rules will promote transparency and trim costs
NIKOS NIKOLAOU
Greek businesspeople who have been active in the Balkans for some time now consider Bulgaria and Romania’s entry into the European Union on Monday a favorable development which will augment this country’s comparative advantages in the region.
That is to say, not only are they optimistic about the prospects of their considerable investments in the two countries, but they believe that the fact that the newcomers are now partners in a market of 485 million people creates better conditions for the further development of their relations with Greece on all levels.
This optimism is based, first, on the gradual application of the acquis communautaire in the two countries, which means transparency will be the rule in their international transactions.
Following the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe, unbridled liberalization of those countries’ economies helped boost foreign investment, particularly in the banking sector. Foreign banks control about 80 percent of banking in Romania and 90 percent in Bulgaria.
Despite this, however, extensive corruption and the dominance of rackets in local distribution networks constituted serious obstacles to the Greek enterprises that had set up shop, as they had to pay considerable protection money in order to operate. To be sure, this corruption was one of the reasons why the European Union would not admit the two countries earlier. Greek businesspeople, therefore, can now hope that their costs of operation will now start to fall, increasing the competitiveness of their investments.
The second reason justifying their optimism is that geopolitical conditions remain favorable for Greece, as its proximity helps it to maintain a potent presence beyond the Balkan region.
Besides, the dynamism evident in Greece’s trade with the two countries shows that our economy is complementary to theirs. For instance, in the first nine months of this year, total Greek exports were up 20.2 percent year-on-year, but had increased 31.9 percent to Bulgaria and 47.1 percent to Romania. And about 90 percent of our exports are industrial products.
Some pessimists argue that after their accession, Bulgaria and Romania will no longer need Greece and will turn to our top-tier EU partners, Germany, France or Italy.
They are wrong. The Balkan saga of Greek entrepreneurship (3,500 firms and at least 1,000 bank branches) took place under conditions of very strong competition with other Europeans. Bulgaria and Romania were never desert countries and Greeks venturing there discovered Germans (topping the investors table), Austrians, French and Italians. With some help from the government, they could increase their competitiveness and hold on to their comparative advantages.
http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/news/economy_&xml/&aspKath/economy.asp?fdate=30/12/2006