Meeting of the EU Club at BCCI on the occasion of the Czech Republic’s Presidency of the Council of the EU

By tradition, the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry organized a meeting of the EU Club with the Chamber on the occasion of the beginning of the Czech Republic’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union as of 1 July 2022.

After two years of virtual meetings, this time the event was held in a hybrid format. Prof. Dr. Ingrid Shikova, Chair of the EU Club at BCCI shared the words of the French President that Europe in June 2022 is different from Europe in January 2022. This is because of the significant changes that happened in the EU during the French Presidency, and because of the war in Ukraine.

H.E. Mrs. Florence Robine, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of France to Bulgaria, gave an overview of what was achieved. "For the last 6 months, France has been working to ensure a united and firm response to Russian aggression against Ukraine, while continuing to monitor the main projects for the future of Europe, so that it is more sovereign, greener and more humane", said Ambassador Robine. During this period, Europe has accepted over 7.6 million Ukrainian refugees, and Ukraine and Moldova received the status of EU candidate countries.

In the first half of the year, 130 agreements were concluded, of which 100 are internal to the Council of Europe, and 30 concern the external relations of the European Union with the world.

The French Presidency paid serious attention to the green economy, adopting the Climate package for reduction of harmful emissions by 55% by 2030, promoting the development of renewable energy both for the protection of natural resources and because of the suspension of supplies from other countries. EUR 59 billion is planned to help households and small businesses in Europe switch to green energy.

Regulation of the digital environment was also a focus of the French Presidency. Digital technologies are transforming all manufacturing sectors and are at the heart of global innovation. By generating growth and new jobs, by protecting European values ​​and principles, the EU will succeed in creating a digital Europe. As a result, legislation has been passed to curb the distribution of illegal content and products online. The economic dominance of the big digital platforms has ended and the freedom of choice for consumers has been guaranteed. Institutional investors have been mobilized with EUR 3.5 billion for the Scale up initiative.

Regarding the priority for a more social Europe, the Directive on minimum wage and the Directive on a minimum of 40% of management personnel represented by women in companies with more than 250 employees have been adopted. Detailed information on the results of the French Presidency HERE.

The priorities of the Czech Presidency were presented by Petr Vávra, Deputy Head of the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Sofia. The motto of the Czech Presidency reflects its priorities: “Europe as a Task: Rethink, Rebuild, Repower”. This motto is both a testimony and a reminder of the need for continuous work to build a modern and functioning Europe. It expresses a commitment to strengthening common freedom, responsibility, security and prosperity.

This is the second time that the Czech Republic has held the presidency of the Council of the European Union. It will focus on 5 closely related priority areas: managing the refugee crisis and post-war reconstruction of Ukraine; energy security; strengthening European defense capabilities and cybersecurity; strategic resilience of the European economy; resilience of democratic institutions.

Vávra emphasized that Europe is currently facing many problems and challenges, but if we are united and determined in our actions, we will emerge from these crises stronger and more resilient. The presentation of the priorities is available HERE.

Prof. Shikova supported with many facts the thesis why the next 6 months during the Czech Presidency of the Council of the EU are important. She pointed out the country’s contribution to the present of United Europe in historical, economic, cultural, culinary and many other aspects and emphasized those that specifically concern Bulgaria.

The President of BCCI Tsvetan Simeonov presented the results of an express survey held among Bulgarian entrepreneurs regarding the expected effect on enterprises of the future use of the euro.

He shared that 52% of businesses that took part in the survey expect labour costs to increase, 48% expect commodity prices to increase, 42% expect an increase in raw material prices, while according to 33% transaction costs will decrease.

Other expectations of the business community are that the costs of attracting foreign partners will decrease (indicated by 19% of respondents) and that the interest in investing in Bulgaria will increase (reported by 36%).

Simeonov also compared the inflation indicators of the EU member states which have already adopted the euro - a year before and a year after the introduction of the common currency. Statistics show that the increase in inflation after the adoption of the European currency is very small and cannot be a major argument against the euro. Among the countries given as an example were the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Belgium, Germany, Slovenia, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.

Bulgaria intends to adopt the euro as of 1 January 2024. Prof. Shikova suggested that informing Bulgarian business about the advantages of Bulgaria’s accession to the Eurozone should become one of the priorities of the EU Club at BCCI.

Diplomats, politicians, bankers, business representatives and journalists took part in the meeting of the EU Club. At the end of the meeting, Petr Vávra accepted the baton – symbol of the Presidency from Ambassador Robine.

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The EU Club at BCCI is an initiative that started in 2000 with the aim to bring together export-oriented companies working mainly with the European Union, representatives of branch organizations and NGOs supporting the business community, diplomats and politicians involved in EU-related matters, as well as national and regional media. The EU Club is an effective tool for familiarizing the BCCI members and the business community as a whole with the challenges and opportunities open to small and medium-sized enterprises in the EU, thus contributing to the successful integration of local entrepreneurs in the EU internal market.