Internal Market / EMU & Financial acquis - Bulgaria

Project title: “EU Integration training for civil servants in the Bulgarian financial sector", Phase 1-2

Specific issues / chapters of the acquis: Free movement of services (Chapter 3), Free movement of capital (Chapter 4), Taxation (Chapter 10), Economic and Monetary Union (Chapter 11), Financial Control (Chapter 28), Financial and Budgetary Provisions (Chapter 29)

Country: Bulgaria

Recipient authority: Ministry of Finance and its subordinated agencies

Project description:

From October to November 2001 seminars were implemented in Sofia aiming strengthening the integration process and the administrative capacity of the ministry.

The seminars provided civil servants from the ministry with an understanding of the financial acquis and its implementation. Due to the wide responsibilities of the ministry, the financial acquis covered chapter 3 (Free movement of services), chapter 4 (Free movements of capital), chapter 10 (Taxation), chapter 11 (Economic and monetary union), chapter 28 (Financial control) and chapter 29 (Financial and budgetary provisions).

In particular, a SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) was presented and used as a example for a tool for creating a strategy for the Bulgarian financial sector.

Furthermore, the seminars focussed on lessons learned in lending cases and banking crises in selected Member States and EU-candidate countries.