Vasil Velev on Green Transition 4.0: Europe is losing, urgent change of policies is needed

Europe is the real loser from the green and digital transition. Instead of being the first, it is now the third economic power in the world, and if there is no serious and urgent change in policies, it will continue to lose ground. Unfortunately for us, with its actions and regulations, Europe has killed its industry, companies are exporting their businesses, and human resources are simply lacking in quantity, qualification and motivation. This was stated by the Chairman of the Board of the Association of Industrial Capital in Bulgaria (AICB) Vasil Velev in the panel "Navigating the nexus: Map of the workplaces of the future in the green and digital era", part of the largest and most successful forum for green transformation - " Green Transition Forum 4.0: The new perspectives for Central and Eastern Europe (CEE)".

Today is the last day of the three-day event at the Sofia Event Center conference venues in the capital, organized for the fourth year in a row by Dir.bg and 3E News. During the forum, more than 2,500 participants, of which more than 750 top managers from 18 different countries, lead the key conversation about tomorrow's world.

According to Velev, while digitization has taken its natural course and increasing the competitiveness of the economy, this is not the case with "greening". That's what the result speaks for. For the last five years, the European economy has lost 5 percentage points of its global share. The EU's share of the world economy has fallen from 21% to 16% in five years.

Vasil Velev also stated that there were four EU countries in the G7. At the moment there are already two of them, and soon, with these policies, in terms of purchasing power parity, there will not be a single EU country among the strongest economies in the world. This is the price. And the benefits against that? The point? And he added that from 2021 to 2024, against 1 ton of coal less in the EU, only India has 2 tons more. "And here we are only talking about India. China alone generates 4 times more CO2 than the EU. When the EU zeroes out its emissions, this does not save the planet, because we are only responsible for 7% of CO2 emissions. Let's bury our heads in sand is absolutely unproductive".

"For the transition we are making, we do not have the people - neither in quantity, nor in quality, qualification and motivation. We have lost European industry, we do not have mining, metals, chemistry, construction materials. We do not have not only critical and rare, but also non-critical and non-rare metals and materials. Why don't we see the elephant in the room? Brussels has nothing to do with that of planet Earth. The price of natural gas is 34 euros per megawatt hour in the US! We cannot put our plants on hold and wait 10 years when the price of energy will be competitive. Hundreds of large enterprises from the basic industries have already left Europe," Vasil Velev also pointed out.

According to the data he presented, in Bulgaria for the last five years there has been a 20% drop in the number of graduates from secondary education, and of those who study, half do not have basic knowledge. Our country is experiencing a serious shortage of specialists in engineering sciences. According to the chairman of AICB, since 25 years in Bulgaria, every year there are two people who retire for every one child born, and this trend will continue in the next 20 years.

According to him, the message that is being sent across Europe at the moment is that work is not a value, we have a competition to see who works less. In the EU we work 4 hours less per week than in the US and 8 hours less than in Asia.

In order for Europe and European enterprises to be competitive again, there must be secure and affordable energy, qualified and motivated human resources, and last but not least, labor must once again become a value, added Vasil Velev. We cannot expect that with the same policies and the same people at the helm of the EU, we will achieve different and better results! The EU will continue on its way to the third world if radical changes do not occur.

The largest and most significant conference on the Green Deal "Green Transition Forum 4.0: New perspectives for Central and Eastern Europe (CEE)" is organized by Dir.bg and 3E-news. The forum takes place from June 26 to 28. Representatives of more than 18 countries appear on the conference stages in Sofia Event Center, with a total of more than 2,500 participants, including more than 750 top managers, holding the key conversation about tomorrow's world.

The event is organized by Dir.bg and 3E-news in partnership with ACT Commodities, ProCredit Bank, Visa, European Investment Bank, Elektrohold, Yettel, Artex Engineering AD, UBB, Aurubis Bulgaria, Glavbolgarstroy Holding, Bulgarian Stock Exchange, UniCredit Bulbank, Bulgarian development bank, Geotechmin, Energeo, MET Energy Trading Bulgaria, Dundee Precious Metals, FLAG Fund, ICGB, The Oil and Gas Employers" Federation, Electric Power System Operator, Bulgartransgaz, Fund of Funds, Bulgarian Energy Holding EAD, Kozloduy NPP, Westinghouse, Philip Morris Bulgaria, BMF Port Burgas AD, Information Service, Bulgarian Natural Gas Association, REIB, PCONTRADE, Omega Power Group, PHOTOMATE , OMV Petrom, Bulgarian Recycling Association, TTS (Transport Trade Services) S.A, Morningside Hill, CWP Global, DEVIN, Smart Energy Trade.