Business and Government - Making EU membership work for business

On December 11 and 12, Economist Conferences was a host of the Seventh Business Roundtable with the Government of Bulgaria. The Bulgarian Business Leaders Forum was one of the partners for the event. Ivailo Kalfin, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Plamen Oresharski, Minister of Finance met with other government representatives and more than 100 business leaders to discuss:

• What is the impact of EU membership on business in Bulgaria?
• Can the Government maintain Bulgaria's rapid growth and improve competitiveness while introducing much-needed structural reform?
• Where is there greatest scope for absorbing and exploiting EU funding?
• When can Bulgaria adopt the euro?
• How will Bulgaria's needs for reliable energy and infrastructure be met?
• What are the plans and priorities for modernization of the educational system?
• Can Bulgaria become an infrastructural hub for the region?  

Among the panelists were also: Petar Dimitrov, Minister of Economy and Energy; Plamen  Vatchkov, Chairman of the State Agency for Information Technology and Communication; Ivan Iskrov, Governor of the National Bank; Michael Humphreys, Head of Representation of the European Commission, Bulgaria; Borislav Boyanov, President of AmCham; Maria Shishkova, BBLF Chairperson; Alex Car, Country Manager of Italcementi Group Bulgaria; Delia Meth-Cohn, Associate Director EMEA, Economist Intelligence Unit; Anthony Hassiotis, Chief Executive Officer of Postbank; George Gueorguiev, Country Manager of Motorola Bulgaria; Ivanka Djoleva-Minioti, Manager Corporate & Government Affairs of Kraft Europe, etc.