Croatia, Macedonia, Bulgaria awarded for reforms

06/06/2008

Three Southeast European nations, named among the world's top reformers in a World Bank report, were inaugurated into the Reformers' Club on Wednesday.

(MIA, SNA, Dnevnik.bg, BTA, News.bg, Bulgarian Ministry of Finance - 05/06/08; Balkan Insight, Javno.hr - 04/06/08; World Bank)

"The award is for the entire business environment in our country. We are now feeling the development compared to the 90s and wish for it to be happening even faster," Bulgarian Finance Minister Plamen Oresharski said. [Getty Images]

Government officials from Croatia, Macedonia and Bulgaria attended a ceremony in New York late Wednesday (June 4th) to receive awards from the World Bank for their countries' business reforms.

The Doing Business 2008 report, released by the Bank and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) in September, listed the three Balkan nations among the world's top ten reformers.

The report, which ranked 178 economies on the basis of ten regulatory indicators for making it easier to conduct business, named Egypt as the leader, followed by Croatia, Ghana, Macedonia, Georgia, Colombia, Saudi Arabia, Kenya, China and Bulgaria.

Wednesday's award ceremony also saw the inauguration of the three Balkan nations and four of the other reform leaders into the Reformers' Club.

Earlier in the day, the seven nations' representatives presented their successful reforms at a seminar at the New York Stock Exchange, organised by the Bank and the IFC.

"Today we are here to celebrate the champions of reforms," World Bank Managing Director Graeme Wheeler said. "They contribute to the building of stronger economies and create opportunities for development and employment."

The finance ministers of Croatia and Bulgaria, Ivan Suker and Plamen Oresharski, and Macedonian Deputy Prime Minister Zoran Stavreski spoke about the reforms that placed them among the top ten in the world last year.

Croatia introduced reforms in four of the ten areas studied by the Doing Business report, upgrading the conditions for starting and closing a business, registering property and obtaining credit.

While the country significantly boosted its ranking -- from 120th in the Doing Business 2007 report to 97th in the one released in September, much work remains, a Croatian expert said.

"It is always flattering when you receive an award, but we must work hard on increasing the efficiency of the Croatian economy," economics analyst Jubo Jurcic told the Croatian website Javno.com.

Macedonian caretaker Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski, attending the event, noted another benefit his country reaped from accelerating company startups, easing the licensing regime and cutting or simplifying taxes.

"Macedonia is viewed with much respect and as an interesting country for investors," said Gruevski, whose country's ranking on the ease of doing business rose from 96th to 75th.

Bulgaria, the only EU member among the top ten reformers, moved up nine places to 46th, thanks to reforms that eased the tax burden on businesses and made it easier to pay taxes online, improved enforcement of judgments and made building inspections less burdensome.

"As a result of these reforms, budget revenues have increased," Oresharski told forum participants. "After the reforms, businesses enjoy a more favorable investment environment, while all taxpayers have a higher disposable income."