First Business Breakfast of the BRCC with the Authorities

Over 100 participants from companies, members, and partners of the Bulgaria-Romania Chamber of Commerce (BRCC) took part in the first Business Breakfast with the Authorities. The format, which the organization’s team will make a tradition, brings together business representatives and responsible state actors in an informal setting, providing an opportunity to discuss current topics. This year, the focus was on energy connectivity between Bulgaria and Romania, transportation links between the two countries, tourism, and Schengen membership.

Eleonora Ivanova, Executive Director of BRCC, presented the Chamber’s activities, emphasizing:

“Founded over 20 years ago, the organization is one of the largest bilateral chambers and plays a leading role in developing economic ties between Bulgaria and Romania. Today, the Chamber has three offices – in Sofia, Bucharest, and Ruse, and a team of 12 highly qualified experts. In the last year, we successfully updated our organization – we adopted a new statute, completed a full rebranding, created a new logo and website, and more than doubled our membership base. We are proud to be the only bilateral chamber in Bulgaria with ambassadors from both neighboring countries on our Board of Directors.”

In his greeting, President of Bulgaria Rumen Radev stated that improving connectivity between Bulgaria and Romania is key not only for bilateral cooperation but also for the economic development of the region. He highlighted the full development of relations between Bulgaria and Romania in political, economic, and cultural fields, as well as in security, based on shared values and mutual interest. This is also reflected in the Strategic Partnership Declaration signed by him and Romanian President Klaus Iohannis in Sofia in 2023.

The President pointed out the primary challenge in strengthening economic ties is the fact that Bulgaria and Romania are still not members of Schengen and the situation regarding their land borders. He identified the limited connectivity across the Danube River as a significant obstacle to bilateral cooperation.

In the subsequent discussion with BRCC Chairman, Attorney Viktor Gugushev, it was made clear that Bulgaria needs to do more to become more recognizable to Romanian companies as a place for investment.

Rumen Radev emphasized that in the process of joining the Schengen Area, Bulgaria and Romania have been together from the very beginning. "We can succeed only if we remain together because only then can we achieve the cumulative effect of the efforts of both countries," he noted.

In the second part of the forum, the two ambassadors - Brândușa Predescu (Romania's Ambassador to Bulgaria) and Radko Vlaykov (Bulgaria's Ambassador to Romania) - answered questions from Julian Mihov, Director of Business Development for Southeast Europe at PricewaterhouseCoopers. Mrs. Predescu expressed hope that full Schengen membership would happen by the end of the year, while Mr. Vlaykov discussed the increase in tourism between the two countries and the opportunities emerging for the sector.

The Business Breakfast also saw participation from trade advisers of Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey, and Austria.

During the event, the new logo of the organization was unveiled for the first time, symbolizing the Chamber's ambition to achieve new, higher goals and greater ambitions. The logo and the new website brcc.bg were created by the professional team at Studio X.

The Business Breakfast with the authorities was made possible with the support of sponsoring companies – PricewaterhouseCoopers, Contracs, Top Rent-a-Car, Paysera, CloudCart, and SameDay, as well as partners – the Bulgaria-Turkey Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Bulgarian Forum of Business Leaders, SeeNext, and Grand Hotel "Millennium."