Ministry of Economy and Energy of the Republic of : Dragomir Stoynev: In 2014 we will hear less the word crisis

From the end of May to December 2013 in the Bulgarian business came close to 2,5 billion real lev

In 2014 we will hear less the word crisis. This was stated by the Minister of Economy and Energy Dragomir Stoynev at a press conference on the activities of the Ministry in the implementation of the government program "Statehood, Development, Justice". The meeting was attended by the Deputy Ministers Anna Yaneva Ivan Ayolov and Branimir Botev.

According to preliminary data, in December 2013 the business has paid a record amount of VAT and other taxes in the budget. Thus the business demonstrated that is honorable and the Government has shown that is responsible to the business, said Stoynev. The return of VAT due in full and on time is unprecedented - at the end of December the companies received back 541 822 839 million lev VAT. By the minister from late May to December 2013 in the Bulgarian business came close to 2, 5 billion real lev. With the 131 million of the updated budget were paid all overdue obligations under the contracts. For the first time in two years we are recognizing the real growth in GDP - for the third quarter of 2013 on annual base the growth was 1.5%, said Stoynev and predicted economic growth above 2%.

He recalled that according to preliminary data of BNB for June-October 2013, the attracted foreign direct investment amounted to 496 million in sectors such as manufacturing, transport, storage and communications, mining and quarrying and trade. For the past seven months under the Investment Promotion certified and in process of certification are projects worth 95 million lev, providing the creation of 510 new jobs. To achieve the objective of reindustrialisation of the economy we start working on potential projects for investment in the automobile industry worth 1.2 billion lev, creating over 8 500 jobs , said Stoynev .

In the focus of the Ministry this year will be the responsibility for small and medium enterprises, reminded the minister. Our ambition is to embed a future opportunities and long-term instruments by the National Innovation Fund and the new program "Innovation and Competitiveness". The number of authorization schemes and administrative burdens on businesses and citizens were reduced with our participation. The plan for the second package of measures, which affects 100 mode is executing and MEE actively is working on 13 of them. The amendments to the Public Procurement Act also improve the access of small business to them.

In 2014 for the National Innovation Fund (NIF) was paid a record sum of 20 million lev. For the previous 2013 the funds are zero lev, said the Minister. In terms of the new OP "Innovation and Competitiveness" 2014-2020 we reached a consensus for the balancing measures. By the program were agreed 1,165 million euro or just over than 100% of its budget. Over two thousand new jobs as a result of successfully completed projects were created.

According Stoynev our efforts to improve the competitiveness of enterprises will have a maximum effect with promoting their export potential at the same time. For June-September 2013 the trade turnover increased by 4.1% compared to the same period of 2012, reaching 16.6 billion euro. Progressively reduces the negative trade balance. For June to September 2013 the decline is 12.8 %. To support this trend MEE in 2014 starts reform in the services for trade and economic ties. Very active is the dialogue with business organizations to discover together a new shared services in the form of public-private partnership, said the Minister.

He also highlighted the responsibilities of the state, especially in the sector of concessions, where the stated had been abdicated. For the period of this government are collected 42.1 million lev unpaid concession fees and are spent 783 629 lev with VAT by bank guarantees of compliant concessionaires. In the second half of 2013 are consistent 353 working projects. Of these, 326 are coordinated only by the middle of November to the end of 2013 and relate to activity yield for 2014. This means that the dealers will now work by the rules, inferred Stoynev.

The Minister recalled that this Government and MEE showed how the state can take reasonable intervention in the economy in the name of rehabilitation of the industrial potential of the country and preservation of jobs and opening new ones. He gave examples of positive prospects for VMZ - Sopot, Himko - Vratsa and  Remotex - Radnevo. "We are negotiating for the acquisition of Remotex - added Stoynev - but the asked by the owner price is unreasonably high. Do not forget that the company has over 25 million lev debt. We want to help the workers, the state wants to acquire the plant, it is the workers desire also, but if till the next week the owner does not offer a reasonable price, we will find ourselves in a situation the acquisition not to happen."

The restructuring of Tech Park Sofia AD is Complete. An operational resource for the initial implementation of the project with EU funding of around 50 million euro is provided, said the Minister.

According to Stoynev the Bulgarian tourism industry already recognized indicators above the average of the global and European level. It generates 13.6% of GDP, while the global figure is 9%. The revenues from international tourism in the current account balance data of BNB for January-October 2013 are 2 839.5 million, which is 4.9 % more than the 2012. The estimated number of foreign tourists in 2013 is over 7 million - 5.6 % more than the 2012. The estimate revenue from international tourism for the twelve months of 2013 were 3048 million (4.5 % more compared to 2012). A plan for sustainable tourism development with horizon to 2030 in relation to develop a long term strategy for the sector was prepared. Three major infrastructure projects in the sector for more than 650 million are in a process of analyzing at the moment. By attracting more investments like this Bulgaria will become a recognizable and desirable tourist attraction with high quality products, whilst ensuring maximum employment, especially in hilly and mountainous regions.