What are the economic challenges facing Europe and its potential for growth – these topics were discussed by European politicians at the highest level, government ministers of Bulgaria, senior business managers, as well as financial and political analysts at the Fourth Summit of the EU-South Eastern Europe held on October 14-15 in Sofia.

Carl Bildt, former Prime Minister of Sweden, stressed the main question – will Sofia be able to cope with the challenges and situations to come? One of the major problems of Europe currently is the migration issue. At this moment it is an economic burden for the EU countries and poses a serious political problem. According to Bildt, however, if the countries of the Union manage to deal with the integration of migrants, it can even help the economy. In this moment of the migration crisis, it is important to have a stable economy. Bildt also said the digital and combined capital markets are key to enhancing the competitiveness of the EU and that the EU should deal with the problem as a group of countries rather than individually. Joint efforts would help to a faster resolution of the crisis issue. Crucial for the future economic development is whether Great Britain will remain a full member.

Tomislav Donchev, Deputy Prime Minister for European funds and economic policy, spoke about the problems Bulgaria and Europe are faced with and which are the most appropriate solutions for growth, in his opinion:

"The issue of growth is important, especially for a country like Bulgaria. The rate of growth that Bulgaria needs is at least twice larger. If you look at all the statistics, hardly have the world and Europe lived in better times. As a special irony rather we have to get used to the idea that we live from crisis to crisis. We are living today in a permanent crisis mode. This is no surprise. As we are able to transfer data and goods quickly, so we are able to transfer any crisis from one end of Europe to the other. When we find ourselves in yet another crisis we should ask the question - How much of Europe do we need? What kind of Europe do we want? This question lies hidden and unspoken in the problems in the debt crisis in several Member States as well as the challenges associated with the refugee crisis. The focus shifts from seeking a common European solution, which is the only one possible, onto how many refugees each country should adopt. The only possible growth is sustainable growth. Especially in the Balkans, in Southeastern Europe we should talk about energy security and independence. "

Experts came to the conclusion that it is a big error to look for a solution within the framework of national states. According to Tomislav Donchev, in the interest of development, we should pay more attention to the optimism, trust between the main players in the market, reputation as a major economic factor and the pursuit of success. Regarding reforms he said:

"Reforms are not made once every 50 years. Reforms are made continuously because the world is very fast and very quickly changing. What was sufficient yesterday is not enough today. We have the following problem - institutions are catching up with the pace of developments. They try to catch up with the problem rather than prevent it from happening. Here the question is - where is the deficit? Whether it is in the visionary approach, whether it is in the lack of political courage, or sometimes we are not able to explain the reforms. EU funds are important for Bulgaria. They are a critical resource for us. They are a small share of public expenditure, but are over 70% of investment resources in public investments. They are the main trigger for conducting reforms. It is appropriate to think of stability as a priority. Stability has many dimensions. The state of deadlock can also be regarded as a kind of stability. I do not want such stability. Stability must lead to security."

From the Bulgarian point of view, the government currently relies on five benchmarks for economic growth: political and economic stability, dialogue and clear messages to businesses, citizens and foreign investors as well as a stable tax environment.

English: Rossitsa Petcova