Amcham Annual Report 2013

2013 Design & Digital Print by Print.bg, phone: (+359 2) 400 5000 March, 2014 www.amcham.bg SOFIA, MARCH, 2014 TABLE of CONTENTS Report of the Board of Directors page 1 Key Performance Indicators page 5 Organizational Structure – Board of Directors and AmCham Team page 7 Membership 2013 page 8 AmCham Events 2013 page 14 AmCham Committees & Working Groups page 20 AmCham White Paper page 30 Position Papers and Reports 2013 page 33 Our Speakers page 36 International Cooperation page 42 Financial Report 2013 / Budget 2013-2014 page 45 AmCham Publications 2013 page 46 In the Media in 2013 page 47 Audit Report 2012 page 51 Thank you Letters page 55 REPort of THE BOARD of DIREctors FOR THE YEAR 2013 DEAR AMCHam MEMBErs: Political and economic situation in the country On behalf of the American Chamber of Commerce Board AmCham lobbying, advocacy and committees’ work of Directors it is my pleasure to present you with our for a better business environment Annual Report for 2013. A rapidly changing political situation – including three The Key Performance Indicators show a detailed presen- separate governments – has made it difficult for Bulgaria tation of the events activities of our committees, position to take steps to overcome a continued economic stag- papers, media coverage, etc. nation. Though the Government declares an ambitious agenda for growth and prosperity, analysts and investors Facts and figures in the AmCham scorecard are a good believe that bold reforms are needed in many sectors. reference to the accomplishments and but it is far more Reforms will only be successful if they are taken as part important to make an analysis based on these facts and of an open, transparent and professional dialog between figures. all stakeholders. Moreover, as we have seen throughout the past twenty years, Government must demonstrate a Report of the Board of Directors 1 AmCham also strengthened its own institutional capacity by creating a position of Legislative and Policy Advisor which has led to a more structured work of the committees and far better relationship with the state and government institutions. However the core of the committees’ work remains the active involvement of the membership and I would like to thank all who have been involved in designing and implementing the ambitious agenda of the committees, the development of the many position papers, the meetings and discussions with the government officials and the members of parliament. In previous years the committees played mostly the role of forums for sharing best practices, but on many occasions this past year the committees served as “think tanks” where opinions on important pieces of legislation and economic policies are formed and developed. At the Board level we are very pleased that the committees are strong commitment to implementing reforms once con- now the source of so many AmCham positions and state- sensus is achieved. ments; they have become important tools for advocacy and communication policy. With these principles in mind AmCham developed a White Paper which outlines insights that we believe are of critical importance to Bulgaria if it is to reinvigorate its Transatlantic Trade economy and attract investments in a highly competitive and Investment Partnership /TTIP/ marketplace. The United States and the European Union account for The document focuses on core challenges facing the nearly half of the global economic output, with each pro- economy and recommends measures to improve produc- ducing more than USD 16 trillion in GDP. Bilateral trade tivity (inefficiency of the economy). Noting that these creates more than 15 million American and European challenges are not unique to Bulgaria, the Am Cham jobs, and Bulgaria contributes to these numbers. In the believes that moreneeds to be done (and urgently) if the summer of 2013 the United States and the European country hopes to establish a stable and satisfactory qual- Union opened negotiations on a Transatlantic Trade and ity of life for the current and next generation. Investment Partnership (TTIP) which would deepen the The White Paper has been presented to the public and economic relationship between the world’s two leading discussed with the main political parties before the economies and lead to the creation of the world’s largest parliamentary elections. The White Paper has received free trade and economic area. attention and support from the decision makers. However, we at Am Cham ask: Can the country do Prime Minister Oresharski recently made clear that more and take a better advantage of the transatlantic the economic agenda of the Government reflects to a economic partnership? Therefore, have determined great the recommendations outlined in the AmCham to make it a priority to increase public awareness and White Paper. promote the benefits of TTIP. The Chamber also will In order to respond to a the need to express mem- aim to contribute to the complicated process of nego- bers views in legislative and regulatory processes, the tiations by providing expertise, surveys and research Am Cham has established new committees, including for different sectors of the economy. For example we the Energy and Mineral Resources Committee and the submitted to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce a compre- Healthcare Committee. Existing committees such as the hensive report on public procurement in Bulgaria. The Public Procurement and EU Funding Committee, Tax report was developed by the Public Procurement and EU Committee, HR Committee also increased their advo- Funding committee. cacy work while the Quality management committee has In October we organized a major conference on TTIP and expanded its agenda and contributed in sharing best the benefits for both sides of the Atlantic. The Forum practices among the membership. 2 Report of the Board of Directors AmCham donated 10, 000 BGN to the Bulgarian Christmas charity initiative under the patronage of President Rosen Plevneliev. The 2013-2014 campaign is under the slogan “Less children with poor eyesight and poor hearing”. The ultimate goal is to provide high tech appliances for the university and regional hospitals. Furthermore, AmCham Bulgaria responded to an appeal of the Foundation “For Our Children” to help refugee children from Syrian. The Chamber donated 6 000 BGN for needs of children in Harmanli refugee center. This year we are also determined to develop new pro- grams and we would strongly encourage the membership to share ideas how we can bring more value to the com- munities where we live and work. AmCham Communication Policy gathered over 180 guests representing international In our efforts to provide best quality services to our mem- organizations, business and diplomatic circles, institu- bers and utilize new possible communication channels, tions, the government and the media. The common Am Cham is expanding its use of social media networks. efforts of the moderators and panelists resulted into a Following a survey of other European AmChams, we are dynamic and stimulating discussion which played a major reviewing the overall design and functionalities of the role in the success of the conference. website and assessing how we can improve our commu- nications capabilities. The American Chamber of Commerce in Bulgaria remains alert regarding the transatlantic cooperation talks We are also happy to report the launch of a new publi- between Washington and Brussels and aims at promot- cation on travel and tourism. This is a joint initiative of ing further discussions on the implications of such an AmChams of Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, agreement for the businesses in Bulgaria. Romania, and Slovenia. The organizations have agreed to cooperate in development of a monthly online regional tourism guide Visit Central and Southeastern Europe CSR policy of AmCham where AmCham Bulgaria members can put forward their As good corporate citizens AmCham continued its CSR services to the regional AmCham members through the activities. AmCham network. We participated as always in Volunteer Days initiative We have heard many times that the AmCham Magazine and promoted among the AmCham community projects and the Daily newsletter remain valuable and impor- benefitting the environment, the cultural and archeo- tant sources of information for business, diplomats and logical heritage of Bulgaria, disadvantaged and elderly government officials. We encourage you to share ideas, people, animal rescue centers, etc. For a second time we experience and news in these publications. We also invite launched the initiative “Professionals at School” aiming you to take advantage of the advertisement opportuni- to bring closer the business and the academia. ties these publications provide. At the Thanksgiving Dinner and the Independence Day We greatly appreciate the ideas of our members and Party we raised 77, 000 BGN for such projects as: “Get try to support individual members’ initiatives as much as Ready for Success” which is promoted by the Bulgarian possible. Some examples this past year have included: Charities Aid Foundation. The project provides scholar- cooperation with AoN/Hewitt on its survey for employ- ships for school and university students without parents ees, partnership with Job Tiger which held a contest and the “Start-Ups” fund supporting small projects for for best employer in ICT, public lectures and discussions social integration of vulnerable youth. of the Atlantic Club, support of events of the Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC), etc. We hope that you Report of the Board of Directors 3 keep brining your ideas to AmCham and we will try to AmCham success in 2013 was greatly enhanced by the find ways to add value. support os the U.S. Embassy and the U.S. Commercial Service. Our sincere thanks to Ambassador Ries and the Finally I would like to extend thanks to all the Board Senior Commercial Officer Thomas Bruns. We deeply members and Committee Chairs who have done out- appreciate what they have done for us.

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