Minister of Economy Emil Karanikolov presented before the Committee on International Trade /INTA/ of the European Parliament in Brussels the priorities of the Bulgarian Presidency in the field of the common commercial policy. Minister Karanikolov pointed out that Trade policy is mainly related to enhancing the competitiveness of the European economy, since it contributes to economic growth and creation of new jobs, which is also the main reason for its prioritization within the Presidency.
The Minister of Economy also pointed out that the Bulgarian Presidency shall commit to enhancing the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) credibility and strengthening the multilateral trading system. Karanikolov focused on preserving the EU’s leadership role in multilateral and plurilateral arrangements in the fields of investment and trade in goods and services, as well as launching negotiations in fields such as e-commerce, data flows and digital services.
The Minister of Economy also outlined free trade agreements negotiations with priority third countries and regions, placing the emphasis on speeding up the progress and finalization of negotiations with Japan, reaching a political agreement with Mercosur countries, as well as achieving progress in the bilateral negotiations with ASEAN countries /Association of Southeast Asian Nations/. According to him, priority shall also be given to issues related to foreign direct investments and the international public procurement instrument. Minister Karanikolov explained that regarding the screening of fоreign direct investments in the EU, special consideration will be given to the technical discussions on the new draft Regulation establishing a framework for screening fоreign direct investments in the EU.
Karanikolov pointed out that it will also be worked on the control of the trade with dual-use items and reaching an agreement on the proposal for a Regulation establishing a Union control regime on the export, transfer, brokerage, technical assistance and transit of dual-use goods.