Vladimir Mitev
Doru Dragomir is President of the Romania-Bulgaria Bilateral Chamber of Commerce, which has offices in Sofia, Bucharest and Silistra. He worked for 20 years in the private sector, living through the great inflation of 1996 in Romania and the international financial crisis that hit South-East Europe in 2008-2009. Dragomir holds an EMBA from Asesbuss & Michael J. Coles at Kennesaw State University in Georgia, USA. He also holds a law degree from Romania.
The Chamber of Commerce has over 65 members from 31 different economic sectors in both countries. It is one of two Chambers of Commerce with a special focus on Romanian-Bulgarian economic relations.
Mr Dragomir, after the conference we will discuss Schengen accession and the state of business in Bulgaria and Romania. What is the opinion of the business community – why are infrastructure projects between the two countries developing so slowly?
We can say “slow” if we have the understanding that we want everything to be ready “tomorrow”. We know that, from the authorities’ point of view, there are procedures to be followed. There are certain rules and standards that companies participating in these infrastructure projects have to follow. I think the biggest problem is that we have delayed the start of these projects for a long time. They should have started 20 or 30 years ago. But we also know what the situation was at that time in Bulgaria, in Romania and between Romania and Bulgaria.
We are not happy that the authorities are only now starting the work. But you have also heard today from representatives of the Ministry of Transport that Bulgaria has finally started work on the motorway project between Ruse and Veliko Tarnovo. This is very important not only for Bulgarians, but also for Romanians, for business and for tourists from Romania. According to our information, every year about 4 million Romanians travel between Giurgiu and Kulata (the Greek border).
Even if projects are moving slowly, it is important for us to see that something is happening now. The authorities are being pushed. Our voice is heard when we talk about infrastructure. It has been decided to start big infrastructure projects. The same goes for the second bridge over the Danube between Ruse and Giurgiu. It will facilitate the movement of goods, but not only goods. Even if things are moving slowly, we are glad it is happening.
Is it only regulation that is a problem in this slow pace of projects? Or are there political stumbling blocks, in terms of trust or cultural differences between the two countries?
I think the biggest problems come from regulations and procedures. I don’t see a trust problem between Romania and Bulgaria. There are other problems. Maybe there are difficulties related to state authorities, budgets. When it comes to infrastructure, we are talking about a lot of money. However, these budgets cannot always be made available so that projects can start.
This week, a draft law on the Bulgarian National Bank in the context of eurozone accession was published for public consultation. I would like to take this opportunity to ask you how Bulgaria’s accession to the euro area will affect the economy in the region and the economic relationship with Romania, when it will take place, say in 2025?
It will have a normal macroeconomic impact. The use of the euro in Bulgaria will benefit Romania, because it will balance a bit the trade between Romania and Bulgaria. We expect that after the introduction of the euro in Bulgaria we will have more exports from Romania to Bulgaria and a slight reduction of exports from Bulgaria to Romania.
Otherwise, I don’t think there will be a big difference because, in general, companies in Romania work more than 70% of the level of trade in goods to and from the European Union. So they have no problem working with euros. From this point of view, they should be prepared to work with Bulgarian companies and with euros.
Photo: Doru Dragomir (source: Doru Dragomir)
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