H.E. Leszek Hensley, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Poland in Sofia: Bulgaria attracts investors primarily with its low taxes

Galina Beleva

- Your Excellency, the most important goal of Bulgaria’s diplomacy this year is our country’s accession to the Schengen area. What is the experience of Poland in this respect?
- In the first place, it should be noted that Poland has one of the longest external borders among the countries of the Schengen Agreement (a 1,185 km-long land border and a 440-km sea border with the Baltic Sea). The requirements set to our country in view of the better integration of systems for monitoring, control and security on the eastern border as the longest eastern external border of the European Union (EU), were huge and largely exceeded Poland’s economic, technological and human potential. Their implementation without the help of the EU would have been unachievable.

The first strategy for Poland’s accession to the Schengen area was drafted in 2001 and the document was afterwards updated each year in accordance with the execution of the consecutive tasks, leading us closer to achieving the set objective.

I believe that improving the security in Schengen countries is of fundamental importance. This is possible thanks to the fact that Schengen legislation requires enhanced police cooperation (through the Schengen Information System) and coordination (within the so-called SIRENE Bureau) among member-states.

- Poland is not one of the largest investors in Bulgaria. How can we attract the interest of Polish businesses?
- Bulgaria is an attractive country for investors mainly because of its lower taxes – the 10% corporate tax and the 10% tax on personal income. When choosing a place to locate their businesses, investors consider other factors as well, such as access to markets for selling their goods and services, access to skilled personnel, the cost of recruitment, attractiveness of the system for the encouragement of investment, etc. Bulgaria has many advantages in this respect. I would like to say that Poland is also attractive for investment. It is a country with a growing economy, a large internal market and skilled personnel.

An increasing number of projects which are being implemented in Poland are in fact investments requiring high-tech knowledge, language proficiency, marketing culture. Polish entrepreneurs first develop their activities in Poland and invest on its territory. The activity of Polish companies is appreciated by the European Commission, which has stated in its reports that Poland is a leader of economic recovery in the EU. Recently, we have witnessed an increased interest on the part of Polish businesses to invest in Bulgaria. This trend, however, was somewhat frozen due to the global crisis.

In the third quarter of 2010, the total volume of Polish investments in Bulgaria reached €116 mln, up from €15 mln at the end of 2006 and less than €3 mln at the end of 2004. By comparison, Bulgarian investments in Poland amounted to some € 2 mln. If Bulgaria wants to attract foreign investments, including Polish ones, it should try to be maximally attractive to investors, compared to neighbouring countries in the region. Information and promotion is needed for the purpose.

- A country with a strong economy like Poland is not willing to join the Eurozone. What is the reason for this?
- Poland’s entry into the Eurozone – similar to that of other EU countries - was predetermined at the time of signing its EU-accession treaty. Since the date of joining the EU, just like Bulgaria, Poland has been participating in the third stage of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) with the status of a country with a derogation. Thus, it undertook to adopt the Euro in the future. Simultaneously, voting for EU-accession in a referendum, the Polish society in fact supported the future exchange of the Zloty for the Euro.

- Bulgaria is a well-known tourist destination for Poles. How can we attract their interest today?
- The period of change in our countries and their opening to the world meant also an opportunity to spend their holidays in countries to which travel used to be difficult not only for political but also for economic reasons. Many Poles have started travelling to Tunisia, Greece, Spain, Turkey, Italy and France, and in the winter - to Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Austria. Currently, Poles are increasingly willing to choose Bulgaria as a tourist destination and consider it a good place to spend their holidays in. I will cite statistics as an example: in 2010, some 250,000 Poles visited Bulgaria, which is over six times more than in 2001, when Polish tourists to your country were only 38,000.

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