Bulgaria Would Profit from EU-Japan Free Trade Agreement – Deputy PM Kuneva

Meglena Kuneva, Bulgaria’s Deputy Prime Minister in charge of coordinating EU policies and institutional affairs, photo by BGNES

Bulgaria is very interested in the signing of a Free Trade Agreement between the EU and Japan, according to Deputy Prime Minister for European Policies Coordination and Institutional Affairs Meglena Kuneva.

Kuneva, who met Monday with a Japanese delegation headed by Kentaro Sonoura, Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs, underscored that Bulgaria had been among the EU countries that had backed the launch of talks on the agreement.

She declared that Bulgaria expected the agreement to contribute to increasing Japanese investments in Bulgaria and to boosting Bulgaria’s exports to Japan, mostly in the sphere of agricultural products, according to reports of the press office of the Bulgarian government.

Kuneva was adamant that the issue of access to EU markets for Japanese goods was related to the opening of the Japanese economy to EU goods.

The participants in Monday’s meeting expressed their satisfaction with the partnership between the Bulgarian and the Japanese agencies for small and medium-sized enterprises.

Regarding investments in the energy sector, Kuneva emphasized that Bulgaria was striving to improve its legislation in the sphere, as well as the business environment.

She said that at this stage the Bulgarian economy could not afford to have consumers pay for the higher cost of renewable energy.

Kuneva recommended making all contracts public as a good anti-corruption measure.

Sonoura expressed his appreciation for the steps that the Bulgarian government was taking to reform the judiciary, adding that its efficiency and independence were a precondition for attracting foreign investments in the country.

The participants in Monday’s meeting also exchanged views on counter-terrorism measures adopted by the two countries, including exchange of personal information of passengers.

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