Bulgarian-Romanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry with a new Chairman and Managing Board

A General Assembly of the Bulgarian-Romanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BRCCI) took place at the end of last week in Bozhentsi, Bulgaria. Present at the event were Ivaylo Marinov, Head of the Economic and Commercial Office at the Embassy of the Republic of Bulgaria in Romania and Radu Calin Moldovan, Commercial Counselor of the Embassy of Romania in Bulgaria, as well as members of the Managing Board and the Control Council of BRCCI, representatives of the company members and other guests.   

The General Assembly decided on a new mandate of the Managing Board and the Control Council. Following a unanimous vote, the following members of the Managing Board were elected: Petko Dimitrov, CEO of Unibel Nord SRL (subsidiary of Bella Bulgaria) – Chairman of the board, Nadejda Vaneva, 3con Group, Stefan Florescu – Hagesan Distribution SRL, Dan Robu – European Fair Trade SRL and Svetlozar Dimitrov – InOut Trade. The Control Council consists of the previous members of the Managing Board – Alexander Prokopiev – Politraffic LTD, and Monica Cadogan – VIVRE DECO SA. On its first meeting, the Managing Board decided to appoint Eleonora Ivanova as the CEO of BRCCI. 

This year marks the 15th anniversary of the establishment of BRCCI, during which the Chamber has become a sustainable structure with established positions of being a leading partner organization to companies and institutions on subjects and issues concerning cross-border business relations between the two neighboring countries. The active member companies are currently 70, the goal is to reach 100 by the end of the year.  

The activities of the organization during the last reporting period include an extended partner network, contacts and recognition on a European level, membership in BCCI, Pro Danube International-Austria and the Club of Joint Chambers, partnership with business associations in Bulgaria and Romania, long-term partnership in Bulgaria with ROMEXPO – the biggest exhibition center in Bucharest. BRCCI has a defined position and is active in cooperating with the institutions on topics and issues of mutual interest, including: crossing the border checkpoints between Bulgaria and Romania, development of Danube navigation, employment and labor mobility. One of the Chamber’s main objectives is to maintain active social engagement through the Bulgarian-Romanian Children’s Fund, which was established at the end of 2016. Activities continue on both projects launched in 2017 – “VISA – Cross-Border Labor Mobility Agency”, funded under the INTERREG V-A Romania-Bulgaria Program and “DANTE – Improving the administrative procedures and processes related to the Danube waterway transport”, financed through the Transnational Cooperation Program „Danube“ 2014-2020. The objectives set for the Chamber include expanding its contacts with other industry and international organizations, creating more opportunities for communication between companies through meetings and exchange of contacts, opening an office in Bucharest, creating an info point in Sofia, conducting an active campaign and lobbying to solve problems concerning the Danube Bridge, establishing of a licensed vocational training center in Ruse, as well as new projects with partners from Bulgaria, Romania and the EU. Financing contracts for three new partner projects are due for signing.

Petko Dimitrov, the newly selected Chairman of the MB of BRCCI: “My plans for the development of the Chamber are to continue the already started in 2018 projects and to develop them in the best way possible. I took on the challenge to be the new Chairman of BRCCI, because I have been a member of the Managing Board for 5 years and I work hard for its development. When I received the proposal with the argument that it is important the new chairman to be a representative of a big company, which is already developed in both Bulgaria and Romania – I accepted with pleasure, so that I can share my experience.” 

“We are a sustainable cross-border organization which unites Bulgarian and Romanian companies by helping them do more and better business – says Eleonora Ivanova, former chair and present CEO – I am extremely happy that the new Managing Board, which was elected today, includes representatives of companies that have been our members for a long time, but also there are new members, which joined us during the last year and have recognized our organization as part of their future success.”

“Thank you for the Friday event! You are great host and organizer! The location was perfect. I felt great and it was a good opportunity for me to get to know some nice people. And last but not least, thank you for accepting me as a member in BRCCI. I am sure that this can be a great collaboration.” Cosmin Ciontos, Art Bazar SRL

“We are impressed by the excellent organization of the General Assembly meeting of the Bulgarian-Romanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. We would like to thank you for the efforts, which the Bulgarian-Romanian Chamber put in organizing this event and we wish success and work satisfaction to the new Managing Board!” Todor Shilkov, Totem DD, Ltd.

“Dear partners, we were very honored to attend BRCCI’s General Assembly – 2018 and we would like to take this opportunity to thank your professional staff, who worked hard to organize the meeting. We found everything very useful, it was a great opportunity and we are proud to be part of BRCCI. We wish you success in all your future work and one more time… Thank You! Awesome job!” Daniel Ioan, Forbo Siegling SRL