A m e r i c a n C h a m b e r o f C o m m e r c e i n B u l g a r i a

h o m e p a g e : w w w . a m c h a m . b g e - m a i l : a m c h a m @a m c h a m . b gBus in e s s Pa rk So f i a , M lado s t 4 A re a , Bu i l d ing 2 , F l o o r 6 , 1 7 6 6 So f i a

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AmCham Events:

Over 3000 CelebrateOver 3000 CelebrateJuly 4th with AmChamJuly 4th with AmCham

AmCham Events:AmCham Events:

President, Government Officials, President, Government Officials, Businesses, Diplomats, NGOs, Lawyers Businesses, Diplomats, NGOs, Lawyers United to Promote Rule of LawUnited to Promote Rule of Law

Analysis:Analysis:

Before and After the Before and After the Bulgarian ElectionsBulgarian Elections

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Trust me, it was far from easy to press “Cut” on Marina Tsvetkova’s excellent analysis of the summer crisis that engulfed Bulgaria’s banks. Her article on the CTB, BNB and the rest of the financial bunch is now in the Unpublished folder on my desktop. I also found there a file titled Bulgaria a Step from Joining ERMII, which was writ-ten in 2010 and never ran in the magazine. The country was ready then with a convergence program and expected to join soon the Eurozone “waiting room,” as the Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM II) was known. Bulgaria was about to start preparations for adopting the Euro in due time.

As it often happens with monthly publications, by the time AmCham Bulgaria Magazine hits the news stands, the situation can be com-pletely different and thus we always confront the risk of running outdated content. I’m glad I stopped that ERMII article at the time, because just a tad later Bulgaria felt the first shock waves of the global financial crisis. Economic growth slowed to a crawl, GDP decreased, companies started cutting their expenses, and Bulgaria’s entry into the Eurozone was superseded by the simple fight for survival.

Had I not been forced to cut an article in 2010 because of the changed situation and had the Eurozone entry remained a priority, perhaps I would not have been forced to expunge an analysis about the banking crisis in 2014. Here is why: if our country was in the process of adopting the Euro, the control over the financial sector would have been strengthened and our acceptance into the European banking union – as touted recently by some politi-cians – would have been facilitated. American Chamber of Commerce in Bulgaria has sup-ported the efforts by successive governments related to the ERMII membership and sub-sequent entry into the Eurozone. The main rationale behind this backing has been the need for clear rules – which are essential for successful business.

Sincerely,

Milen MarchevEditor-in-Chief

Dear Reader,

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Publisher American Chamber of Commerce in BulgariaBusiness Park Sofia, Mladost 4 AreaBuilding 2, Floor 6, Sofia 1766, BulgariaTel.: +359 (2) 9742 743Fax: +359 (2) 9742 741e-mail: amcham@amcham.bgwww.amcham.bg

Editor-in-ChiefMilen Marchev

Deputy Editor-in-ChiefChristopher Karadjov

Senior Editor:Irina Bacheva

ISSN 1312-935X

Writers:Boyko Vassilev, Marina Tzvetkova, Mina Georgieva, Panayot Angarev, Yuliana Boncheva

AdvertisingAmCham Bulgaria: Nadejda Vakareeva, nadia@amcham.bg

AmCham Bulgaria Magazine:Milen Marchev, milen@milenmarchev.com

The AmCham Bulgaria Magazine reaches a broad audi-ence of AmCham members, leading US, Bulgarian and international companies, US and Bulgarian decision-mak-ers, all AmChams around the world.Subscription is free of charge. If you would like to sub-scribe to AmCham Bulgaria publications, please contact the AmCham Bulgaria office.

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AmCham Bulgaria Magazine is a primary forum for political and economic analyses, news, viewpoints as well as for the presentation of new business opportunities. The articles in the AmCham Bulgaria Magazine express the opinions of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the position of the American Chamber of Commerce in Bulgaria.

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Contentsc o v e r s t o r y

Politicians, Lawmakers, Diplomats, Businesses: Protect the Rule of Law! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Daria Prodanova, chair of First Commercial Department, Supreme Court of Cassation: The justice system is clogged with lawsuits . . . . . . 6

Boyan Magdalinchev, deputy chair of Supreme Administrative Court (SAC): Bulgaria’s Laws Change Too Often . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

a m c h a m e v e n t s

Over 3000 Celebrate July 4th with AmCham . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

U.S. Trade Envoy and AmCham Community Discuss Bilateral Trade and TTIP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16

Sandi Cesko Tells Successful Business Model. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18

o s a c

IPR and Brand Protection Conference . . . . . . . . . .20

m e m b e r n e w s

Postbank Raises 250,000 BGN in only Six Months for the project “Best Start for Every Child”in partnership with UNICEF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21

a n a l y s i s

All That Jazz, Bulgarian Way . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22

By Boyko Vassilev

n e w m e m b e r s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24

AW-Tronics

Nicholas Galabov

NDB Ltd.

SOFITA

t r a v e l

Florida Beckons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26

By Vladimir Matov

a m c h a m w a y

Fans, Stars Watch U.S.-Germany Game Live . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28

3M Bulgaria EOOD . AA KRES EOOD . Abbott Products EOOD . AbbVie EOOD . Actavis Bulgaria . Adecco

Bulgaria ltd. . Advance International Transport EOOD . AES Corporation . AFA OOD . AGORA-IN Ltd. . AHNtech Branch Bulgaria . AIG Europe Limited (Bulgaria Branch) . AIMS Human Capital . Air Berlin PLC & Co.

Luftverkehrs KG . Albena AD . Alfred C. Toepfer International Bulgaria EOOD . ALICO Bulgaria ZhZD EAD, a MetLife

Inc. Company . All Channels Communication . Alliance One Tobacco Bulgaria . Allied Pickfords Bulgaria . Alpha

Bank Bulgaria . America for Bulgaria Foundation . American College of Sofia . American English Academy . American Research Center in Sofia . American University in Bulgaria (AUBG) . Amgen Bulgaria EOOD . Amway

Romania Marketing Srl . Anglo-American School of Sofia . AON Bulgaria . APOLO Ltd. . Arexim Engineering . Ashtrom International Ltd. . Association Srednogorie Copper Industrial Cluster . Astra Zeneca Bulgaria EOOD . AT Engineering 2000 Ltd. . Atlantic Club Bulgaria . Atos IT Solutions and Services EOOD . Attica Media Bulgaria

Ltd. . August Research . Aurubis Bulgaria AD . Auto Bavaria Ltd. . AVON Cosmetics Bulgaria . AW-Tronics . Axway Bulgaria EOOD . Baker Tilly Bulgaria . Balkan Star Automotive EOOD . Ballistic Cell Ltd. . Baxter

Bulgaria EOOD . BC Serdon . Berlitz Schools of Languages . BG Radio . BICA International Ltd. . BMG

Ltd. . BMW Vertiebs GmbH - Branch Bulgaria . BNP Paribas S.A. - Sofia Branch . BOYANOV & Co. . Braykov's

Legal Office . British American Tobacco Bulgaria . Brown Forman Beverages Worldwide Sofia Branch LLC . bTV

Media Group . Bulgarian American Enterprise Fund . Bulgarian Charities Aid Foundation (BCAF) . Bulgarian Executive

Search Association . Bulgarian Property Developments EOOD . BulPros Consulting JSC . Bulstrad Life Vienna

Insurance Group . Business Intellect Ltd. . Business Park Sofia EOOD . Carat Bulgaria . Castello Precast OOD . Center for the Study of Democracy . Cheque Dejeuner Bulgaria Ltd. . Chevron Bulgaria Exploration and Production

EOOD . Cisco Systems Bulgaria . Citibank Europe Plc, Bulgaria Branch . Club 50 Plus . CMS Cameron

McKenna LLP - Bulgaria Branch . Coca-Cola Enterprises Services Bulgaria EOOD . Coca-Cola HBC Bulgaria AD . Coface Bulgaria Credit Management Services EOOD . COLLIERS International Bulgaria . Congress Engineering Ltd. . Construction Management Group . Contitrans M Ltd. . ContourGlobal Maritsa East 3 AD . Credit Agricole Bulgaria

EAD . Curtis / Balkan Ltd. . Dalkia Bulgaria EAD . Danailov, Mihaleva, Nedelchev & Co. . Delchev & Partners

Law Firm . Deloitte Bulgaria EOOD . denkstatt Bulgaria OOD . Deutsche Bank AG . Devin AD . DHL

Express Bulgaria Ltd. . Diamed Ltd. . Dimitrov, Petrov & Co. . Djingov, Gouginski, Kyutchukov, & Velichkov . Dobrev & Lyutskanov Law Firm . Dr. I.S. Greenberg Medical Center . Drujba Glassworks SA . Dundee Precious

Metals Inc. . DuPont Pioneer . EcoPack Bulgaria AD . Edenred Bulgaria . Ekoterm Proekt EAD . Ekotoi

- Service Ltd. . Ekzotika EOOD . Electron Progress EAD . Elevat Ltd. Legal House . Eli Lilly and Company . Eltrak Bulgaria Ltd. . EMC Computer Systems Austria GmbH . Emerson Process Management . EnergoService

AD . Engineeringservice Sofia Ltd. . Enterprise Communications Group OOD . EOS Matrix Ltd. . Ernst & Young

Bulgaria EOOD . ESRI Bulgaria Ltd. . Etap Adress . Eurobank Bulgaria . Eurohold Bulgaria . European

Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) . European Trade Center EOOD . Expat Capital . Experian

Bulgaria EAD . FairPlay International . Fama Consulting OOD . Flying Cargo Bulgaria Ltd. - Licensee of FedEx . Force Delta Ltd. . Forton International AD . Foundation Glob@l Libraries - Bulgaria . Fox International Channels

Bulgaria EOOD . GAEA - Green Alternative Energy Assets EAD . Galardo EOOD . Gasstroymontaj Jsc . General

Electric International . Georgiev, Todorov & Co. . Geostroy AD . Geotechmin OOD . Geotrading AD . Gi

Group . GIFTA . GlaxoSmithKline . Grand Hotel Sofia . GTC Bulgaria . Helios . Power Hewlett-Packard

Bulgaria Ltd. . HILD Asset Bulgaria Jsc. . Hilton Sofia . Honeywell EOOD . IBM Bulgaria . ICAP Bulgaria

JSC . Ideal Standard - Vidima AD . Incotex Group Ltd. . Industrial Holding Bulgaria . InterConsult Bulgaria Ltd. . Interdean Relocation Services . Interlang Ltd. . Intertek - Moody . Intracom Bulgaria EAD . Investbank JSC . Investor BG AD . IP Consulting Ltd. . ITT Exelis . Japan Tobacco International Bulgaria . Jobs.bg EOOD . JobTiger Ltd. . Johnson & Johnson Bulgaria EOOD . Johnson Controls Electronics Bulgaria . Junior Achievement

Bulgaria . Kaliakra AD . Kamenitza AD . Katilin Popov Enforcement Officers . Kempinski Hotel Grand Arena

Bansko . Kempinski Hotel Zografski Sofia . KPMG Bulgaria OOD . LANDMARK Property Management AD . Lexim Sofia Ltd . Lindner Immobilien Management EOOD . Lirex BG Ltd. . M3 Communications Group, Inc. A Hill

& Knowlton Associate . Maria Vranovska, MD, MBA . Mars Incorporated Bulgaria EOOD . Marsh EOOD . Maxi

I AD . MB Communications . MBL| Part of the CBRE Affiliate Network . Megatron EAD . Mellon Bulgaria EAD . Merck Sharp & Dohme Bulgaria . Microsoft Bulgaria . Miltech Ltd. . Minstroy Holding Jsc . Mobiltel EAD . Monbat Plc. . Mondelez Bulgaria AD . Moten Sport . Moto-Pfohe Ltd. . Movex Relocations . Mr. Alex

Nestor . Mr. David Hampson . Mr. Jean Talmon . Ms. Anelia Tatarova . Ms. Kalinka Kovatcheva . Ms.

Margarita Radeva, CPA . Municipal Bank Plc . Musala Soft AD . NDB Ltd. . Nemetschek Bulgaria . NEXTDOOR Ltd. . Nicholas Galabov . Novacon Bulgaria Ltd. . Novotel Sofia MHQ . Nu Boyana Film Studios . Office for Mining Industry and Metallurgy Ltd. . On Bulgaria Ltd. . Oracle East Central Europe Limited - Branch

Bulgaria . Orak Group Europe Ltd. . Orbit Ltd. . Orkikem Ltd. . Panchim Ltd. . PANDA - IP Ltd. . Pedersen & Partners . Penev LLP . Penkov, Markov & Partners . Pfizer Luxembourg SARL Branch Bulgaria . Philip Morris Bulgaria EOOD . Philips Bulgaria Ltd. . PMB EOOD . PPD Bulgaria EOOD . Premier Luxury

Mountain Resort . Premier Tours Ltd. . Prestige 96 AD . Progress CAD R&D Centre Ltd. . Provident Financial

Bulgaria Ltd. . PSG Payroll Services Ltd. . PwC Bulgaria . Quadrant Beverages JSC . Radisson Blu Grand

Hotel . Red Devil Catering Plc . Regus Bulgaria Ltd. . Renault Nissan Bulgaria SRL . Right Rental Ltd. . RSM BX Ltd. . S&T Bulgaria . Sanofi - Aventis Bulgaria EOOD . Sb Accounting and Consulting . Schenker

EOOD . Schneider Electric Bulgaria . SECTRON . Sensata Technologies . Shell Bulgaria EAD . Sherita

M Ltd. . Siemens EOOD . SIENIT Holding . Sitel Bulgaria EOOD . Sodexo Pass Bulgaria EOOD . Sofia

Hotel Balkan . Sofita . Sogelife Bulgaria IJSC . Sopharma AD . Sopharma Trading JSC . St. Sofia Golf

Club & SPA . Stanton Chase International Bulgaria . Steelcase International . Stefan Dimitrov, Norman Realestate

Co. Ltd. . Sunfoods Bulgaria EOOD - Development Licensee of McDonald’s in Bulgaria . Sutherland Global Services

Bulgaria EOOD . Tavex EOOD . TBI Bank EAD . TechnoLogica EAD . Telelink EAD . TELUS International

Europe . The Coca-Cola Company Bulgaria . Tishman Management Company EOOD . Titan Zlatna Panega Cement . TMF Services EOOD . Tocheva & Mandazhieva Law Office . Totema Engineering JSC . UniCredit Bulbank . UniCredit Leasing EAD . Unimasters Logistics Plc . Unique Estates . Unisys Bulgaria Branch . United Bulgarian

Bank . VAPTECH Ltd. . Videolux Holding / Technopolis . VISA Europe . VIVACOM . VMware Bulgaria EOOD . VSK Kentavar - IZ Dinamika EOOD . VUZF University Higher School of Insurance and Finance . Walltopia Ltd. . Welcome to Bulgaria . Westinghouse Energy Systems Bulgaria Branch . World Courier Bulgaria Ltd. . World Transport

Overseas Bulgaria Ltd. . WorleyParsons Nuclear Services JSC . Wrigley Bulgaria EOOD . Xerox Bulgaria Ltd. . Yastrebets Hotel Wellness & SPA . Zlatina Ruseva-Savova, LL.M., MBA . Zobele Bulgaria EOOD

Board of Directors of the American Chamber of Commerce in Bulgaria

President Mr. Peter Lithgow AES Corporation

Vice President Mr. Alex Nestor Individual Member

Vice President Mr. Daniel Berg European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)

Treasurer Ms. Petya Dimitrova Eurobank Bulgaria

Members Mr. Borislav Dimitrov Cisco Systems Bulgaria

Mr. David Butts CMS Cameron McKenna EOOD

Ms. Diana Pazaitova Fama Consulting

Mr. George Brashnarov Nemetscheck Bulgaria

Ms. Krassimira Chemishanska Amgen Bulgaria

Mr. Sergey Koynov Forton International

Mr. Solomon Passy Atlantic Club Bulgaria

Mr. Venislav Yotov AIG Europe Limited (Bulgaria Branch)

Ex-Officio Member Mr. Thomas Bruns Senior Commercial Officer, U.S. Embassy

Executive Director Mr. Valentin Georgiev

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“The rule of law is the most important priority for Bulgaria today. Without respecting the law neither the freedom of the individual, nor a business initiative can be guaranteed,” said Bulgaria’s President Rossen Plevneliev at the forum on the rule of law organized by AmCham Bulgaria, German-Bulgarian Chamber and the Austrian Business Council on July 8, 2014. The conference gathered some 200 participants.

“Our country still has a problem with the adherence to the rule of law, and now this problem cannot remain hidden,” the president also said. He called for prag-matism and recognition of the achieve-ments during the past 25 years since the democratic changes in Bulgaria.

“We made mistakes, but we made the right civilization choice. Now, 25 years

later, the fight is going on other fronts – the rule of law against subservient justice; free media against propagan-da machines; thousands of small and medium-sized enterprises against a handful of oligarchs; institutions serv-ing people against those serving lob-byists; tolerance within the different faith against all extremists; modern patriotism vs. false nationalism, as we see today in Europe,” added Plevneliev.

He said that the trust deficit in the soci-ety should activate the political system, not weaken it. There is a need of change in the approach - principled coalitions with respected arrangements, clear commitment, successful reforms, not delaying and worsening of the prob-lems. According to the president, active civil society in many countries, including

Bulgaria, has shown that people have expressed clear request for change.

“This is an extremely positive public energy and I am grateful to the civil soci-ety in Bulgaria," Plevneliev said.

He referred to a Freedom House report titled “Nations in Transit 2014,” which pointed out Bulgaria’s deteriorating democratization indices. The study says, however, that the country’s civil society has been becoming more active and dynamic. “I would like to thank the citi-zens. They fill up a gap which we the politicians surely have left open,” Plevneliev commented.

Among other conference speakers were U.S. Ambassador Marcie Ries; Gerhard Reiweger, ambassador of Austria; James Silkenat, president of American

Politicians, Lawmakers, Diplomats, Businesses: Protect the Rule of Law!

President Rosen Plevneliev with diplomats and business leaders at the opening of the rule of law forum.

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Bar Association, director and vice-resi-dent of the World Justice Project; Christian Humborg, executive director of Transparency International Germany; Elizabeth Stong, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, New York; business representatives, diplomats, governmental officials, NGOs, and media.

The U.S. ambassador said that the rule of law is critical for a healthy business environment. The formula is simple, Ries said: transparent and predictable rules, enforced by a reliable and impar-tial judicial system, lead to increased investor confidence, which in turn leads to greater investment. Greater invest-ment means more jobs and more eco-nomic opportunities, which benefits everyone. The ambassador added, however, that establishing and imple-menting the rule of law is a complex and arduous task. There is no single, new constitutional amendment, or piece of legislation, or political party, or training program that can create suddenly the fair, dependable system that everyone wants.

Instead, it takes a commitment to strong institutions and sustained engagement and political will by everyone involved - from the leaders who are entrusted to implement the law, to the media who must seek the truth, to the citizens, who must hold their leaders and their institu-tions accountable, Ries said.

“I commend the many civil society and media organizations involved in these issues, and I encourage their participa-tion in the public debate and in the poli-cymaking process. Our desire is to have a stable, democratic, and prosperous partner in Bulgaria. Strong rule of law is central to these goals”, Ambassador Ries said.

Ruediger Hoeben-Stoermer, president of the German-Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, quoted the lat-est survey about the business environ-ment in Bulgaria, which the Chamber carried among its members. Some 82 percent gave a positive answer to the question “Would you again choose Bulgaria as preferred location for your investment?” The membership in the European Union, the tax burden of only 10 percent and low labor costs are some of the most important advantages of Bulgaria.

Roumen Nenkov, constitutional court judge comments on the rule of law.

Bulgarian and US judges were special guests at the conference.

U.S. Ambassador Marcie B. Ries (first on the right) and business representatives at the forum.

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Companies seem to be quite unsatis-fied, however, with the legal insecurity, poor transparency of public procure-ment, lack of predictability in economic policies, unsuccessful fight against cor-ruption and crime and dubious political and social stability.

Stoermer said a vicious circle is created: missing legal security eases the break-ing of the law. Once no one is being punished for breaking the law, even more individuals will keep on breaking it.

He concluded: “If we do not act on time, the circle will mutate into a helix. And the way downwards is endless. There are plenty of tools that could be implement-ed in order to prevent the infinite pro-cess of breaking the law. The premise is simple and valid for all players: willing to be equal before the law– quite simple to be expressed, but difficult to be put into practice. Who is taking action to protect the rule of law?”

Michael Angerer, Austrian trade com-missioner in Bulgaria, said that in 2009

the investments of his country in differ-ent industries in Bulgaria stood at 6.4 billion Euro, and now they have fallen to 5.5 billion Euro. The figures show that Austria is still one of the most important investors in Bulgaria. Austrian Ambassador Reiweger urged for the unbiased application of the law. He said: “Law should be precise and not allowing for different interpretations. Non-ambiguity is central principle in the law-making process in Austria.”

World Justice Project’s Vice President

- Judge Prodanova, do Bulgarian citizens and companies in the country have access to justice?

- There is absolute access to justice in Bulgaria. The door is wide open at the initial level. Unfortunately, the door is also wide open at the final level, which clogs the system with frivolous lawsuits, leaving no time for more serious cases. A brief statistical review shows that one of our judges has about 200 cases a year. Of them, only 10 or so really deserve serious attention and effort. The rest concern unpaid electricity and heating bills, leasing payments – all things that should have been resolved on first instance. But they are part of our list of cases – including, for instance, the bankruptcy and rehabilitation plan of Plama Refinery in Pleven. The system is clogged because the legislator has adopted quite a populist approach to defining “access to justice.”

- Is this the reason for the growing negativism towards the justice system?

- Yes, it is because all cases are given the right to be heard on three instances. But that affects the whole system. A teacher can be a great teacher in a class of 25 students, but when the pupils become 50 or 100, the instructor simply cannot give each of them enough attention. Regardless of how good the teacher is, the quality of such education will be poor.

Some limit should be placed in Bulgaria – two instances also ensure access to justice.

- Would that not affect the public trust?

- Excuse me for such a sharp statement, but we are not actors on a stage waiting for the applause from the audience. The work of the judges can be understood by people who do the same level of

specialized job. It cannot be assessed by statistical criteria, such as number of revoked and completed cases, etc. The Bulgarian society should be persuaded to respect the specialized labor of judges so that there can be trust in the system as a whole.

- Why have bankruptcy cases become such a fashion in Bulgaria?

- Bankruptcy cases are like a skeleton in the cupboard. Most of them are simulated cases. It is simply that a company decides to choose a bankruptcy date and cheat its creditors, rather than rehabilitate its production or activity. There are cases concerning enormous intercompany debts in Bulgaria, bad practices in public procurement, lobbyism. For example, it happens that the state does not refund VAT to a trader – then the trader stops paying its creditors and employees, and the problem becomes more aggra-vated with time. But if someone starts examining how guilty the state is for such indebtedness, the conclusions will be quite unflat-tering.

As a matter of fact, in bankruptcy proceedings the court has the Sisyphean task of finding if the debtor has any assets to satisfy the interests of secured creditors. Unsecured creditors stand no chance at all. That leads to the bizarre situation when the debtor drives a lovely expensive car, but does not pay insurance; all assets have been transferred to other entities, yet a relation can-not be established; creditors’ claims have to be satisfied with the 2 Leva the debtor has paid for the registration of a limited liability company. �

Daria Prodanova, chair of First

Commercial Department, Supreme

Court of Cassation:

The justice system is clogged with lawsuits

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James Silkenat stressed the impor-tance of the rule of law in the United States. WJP seeks to increase public awareness about the foundational importance of the rule of law, stimulate government reforms, and develop practical programs at the community level through three complementary programs: Research and Scholarship, the WJP Rule of Law Index, and Engagement.

Although the Bulgarian legislation is constantly amended there is a trust deficit in the society towards all of the institutions. Several burning topics of Bulgarian politics during the last sev-eral years were raised by Bulgarian lawmakers, politicians and journalists. Dora Yankova, deputy chair of Coalition

for Bulgaria’s parliamentary group, elaborated on the social disintegration and gap between rich and poor that generates the problems for the rule of law. She said that 71 percent of the population lives below the level of pov-erty. Yankova urged the MPs to analyze the problems that have been identified in several reports of the European Commission and to work for social inte-gration where there is no matter the adherence to a political party.

Tchetin Kazak, chair of MRF’s Legal Affairs Committee, reiterated the need to define the focal point for social inte-gration that will facilitate the good gov-ernance and guarantee the rule of law.

Yonko Grozev, deputy chair of

Movement “Bulgaria for the Citizens,” raised the issue with the lack of trust in the judicial system that has been try-ing to solve fundamental issues for some 25 years now. The main political question is why Bulgaria does not have a judiciary and rule of law and how the situation could change? Grozev advised for a pressure on the political parties to guarantee the reform in the system. He urged for changes in Bulgaria’s Constitution and separation of the management of the courts from the Prosecutor’s Office.

The forum discussed what should be the priority – reforming the administra-tion or reforming the judiciary? The participants in the discussion agreed that the administration needs profes-sional training; political influence must be removed from the system. Dobrina Cheshmedzhieva, an anchor with the Bulgarian National Television, moder-ated the discussion.

Elizabeth Stong with U.S. Bankruptcy Court elaborated on the transparency of the court system in the United States, which is so essential to the public trust. Electronic documents are published online after each trial, she said. “Responsiveness and value cre-ation are fundamental part of our job,” Stong added.

Rule of law and access to justice were elaborated in detail by Blagovest Punev, Constitutional Court judge, Daria Prodanova, chair of the Commercial Department with the Supreme Court of Cassation, Boyan Magdalinchev, deputy chair of the Supreme Administrative Court, Silvi Chernev, chair of Arbitration Court, Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Kiril Valchev of Darik Radio moderated the discussion.

Business representatives raised sev-eral topics of importance, among them the ways of improving the interpreta-tion of laws by the administration, improving politician’s ethical behav-iors, maintaining predictability and transparence.

AmCham thanks all the supporters of the event: U.S. Embassy in Bulgaria; Djingov, Gouginski, Kyutchukov & Velichkov; AES Bulgaria; Nemetschek Bulgaria. �

Bulgaria’s president Rossen Plevneliev stressed the importance of the responsibility of parliament, administra-tion and presidency for the rule of law.

Bulgaria’s president Rossen Plevneliev and Elizabeth Stong, federal judge, U.S. Bankruptcy Court.

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- Judge Magdalinchev, do you think that there is a per-ception of an effective rule of law in Bulgaria?

- There is hardly such a perception, at least not to the extent there has to be one. It would be good to feel the rule of law in its manifest form of justice between the public and the institu-tions that enforce it. But that is a question of legal culture, as well as of literacy. Traditionally, Bulgarians have not accepted gladly anything that may differ from their own views; they have their own feeling of justice. People sometimes do not understand that court acts are precise, legal and just – even if they diverge from their own expectations. I hope with time Bulgarians’ legal culture will improve and this will change.

- But there are growing accusations that the judicial administration is delaying lawsuits, procedures are diffi-cult and sluggish, and – primarily – that access to justice is difficult?

- True as this may be, law implementation is not a function solely of the courts. The administration also enforces laws in its daily operation and has to be more legally literate and protectable than it is today. For instance, we have the Civil Servants Act, which is often applied in ways that differ from its intent. When the political power changers we always witness changes even at the lowest levels of the administration. At the same time the administration is the backbone of statehood on a national and local level; there can be no progress without it. So legislators should ensure better guarantees and security for the administration. Respectively, there should be mecha-nisms for dismissal of civil servants, but only when there is incompetence or misinterpretation of circumstances.

- President Plevneliev gave an unequivocal assessment of the judicial system: “Bulgaria has a problem and that problem should not be concealed!” What do you think about this conclusion?

- I agree that we have difficulties and that they should not be hidden. The system of administrative justice is in fact extremely fast. Cases are resolved on two instances within a year and a half. But the problems are the contradictory prac-tices and those are issues with the SAC in particular. What is the reason for that? Last year some 22,000 lawsuits were filed with SAC, which has 88 judges, i.e., the staff is too small for such a large number of cases.

On the other hand, legislation in Bulgaria is constantly chang-ing, especially as it concerns institutional justice. Legal rules are being amended extremely dynamically. We cannot afford to adopt an interpretation decision in the area of public pro-curement, which is at the basis of business relations in the country. The reason is that before the judgment is delivered, the rule has been already changed. So we cannot harmonize practices, because the effective legal rules are being modi-fied. Let us say that we adopted an electoral code – and it

would have to be amended the moment it came out of the printing house.

- Why do laws have to be changed so often?

- The frequent change of laws means that the legislator has a problem. A law that regulates important public relations in certain areas should be reviewed by experts and consultants before it is adopted by the National Assembly. That will help avoid essential amendments later on, when the political power changes. But laws that are at the basis of the eco-nomic activity, administration and important economic sectors cannot and should not be changed.

That is why there are controversial legal practices, though we try to avoid them. So far SAC has adopted some 40 interpre-tative decisions. We are strengthening our interpretative practice. We have no right to legislative initiative, but we have set up a working group to draft amendments to the Code of Administrative Procedure and the Judicial System Act. The aim is to create the institution of Central Administrative Court. It can take over some of the responsibilities of SAC, which currently hears large part of the acts of all government com-missions, such as the Financial Supervision Commission and State Energy and Water Regulatory Commission. I do not mean to underestimate those bodies, but there is a paradox that 30 to 35 percent of the lawsuits at SAC are fist-instance cases. Generally speaking, administrative procedures are fast, yet problems exist that we are trying to solve with our own resources. On the other hand, that depends on bodies outside of the administrative court system, too. �

Boyan Magdalinchev, deputy chair of Supreme Administrative Court (SAC):

Bulgaria’s Laws Change Too Often

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Over 3000 guests enjoyed the AmCham 20th annual Independence Day celebra-tion on July 5th, 2014 at the American College of Sofia. The sunny weather, evergreen music, lots of delicious foods and drinks made the perfect July 4th party ever. Families, friends and partners celebrated the holiday the way Americans do it.

AmCham kindly thanks the diamond sponsors: America for Bulgaria Foundation, Dundee Precious Metals, and Mobiltel. We highly appreciate the support of: AES Bulgaria, BMW Bulgaria, Adecco Bulgaria, Amgen Bulgaria, Cisco Systems Bulgaria, EY Bulgaria, Eurobank EFG Bulgaria, Honeywell, UniCredit Bulbank.

In addition the sponsors for the catering, beverages & facilities: AES Bulgaria BBQ, McDonald’s McCafe, Pain D’or, Forton, Jack Daniel’s, Kamenitza & Stella Artois, Coca Cola. We would also like to mention the considerable contribution of: Right Rental with the tents, Red Devil with the catering, Force Delta for the security, Orbit with the transport. And of course a big “thank you” to our host the American College of Sofia!

Warm greetings to the audience were given by Peter Lithgow, AmCham President, Elizabeth Fitzsimmons act-ing U.S. Deputy Chief of Mission, Paul K. Johnson, President, American College of Sofia, and Valentin Georgiev – AmCham Executive Director.

AmCham and US Embassy outlined their fruitful partnership throughout the year. The charming Marching Stars Band of Zlatitsa School made a colorful dance that was followed by the American and Bulgarian Anthems. The U.S. Marine Corps presented the

National Colors.

There was a variety of amusements dur-ing the party. Rhythm Boys and Faces bands performed live all evening on. Kids had fun with the show of “Malchugan-Velikan”. The World Cup Quarter-Final Live Stream took place at the Mtel Football Fan Zone where the fans watched Argentina defeated Belgium 1-0.

The AmCham fundraising raffles went for charity - 45 very attractive prizes provid-ed by our members - were drawn at the stage. �

Over 3000 Celebrate Over 3000 Celebrate July 4th with AmChamJuly 4th with AmCham

Daniel Berg, AmCham vice-president leading the opening ceremony together with Elizabeth Fitzsimmons, acting U.S. deputy chief of mission, Peter Lithgow, president, Paul Johnson, American College, and Valentin Georgiev, executive director.

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U.S. Marine Corps presented the National Colors.

Our diamond sponsor Mobiltel set up a wonderful football fan zone where the fans watched Argentina defeated Belgium 1-0.

A line at the Jack Daniel’s stand tempted by delicious cocktails.

Enjoying the party cake late after the sunset.

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Art studio for the children.

“Palavnitsi” company set up the children facilities at the kids’ corner.

The show of Malchugan-Velikan.

The happy winner of Sony Experia Z1 Compact provided by Mtel during the raff le game.

Children and parents at the late evening dances.

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True style American July 4th party - at the meadows of the American college.

Rhythm Boys band encouraged volunteers on stage. The happy winner of “Factor” new line electric guitar.

Faces band opened the dance f loor.

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The AmCham community had a business luncheon on June 23, 2014 with Kenneth E. Hyatt, Undersecretary for International Trade, US Department of Commerce. At focus were topics related to the progress of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership negotiations (TTIP), the importance of the business-to-government dialogue; ways to boost U.S. investments to Bulgaria and foster bilateral trade. The speech was entitled “Growing U.S. – Southeast Europe Bilateral Trade and Investment”.

TTIP is crucial to both our economies, and we need Bulgaria’s full support and commitment to working as fast as possible on this endeavor, said Mr. Hyatt. He encouraged the businesses to be active during the ongoing negotiations and to think how they could help the process. There is no clear time framework on the final agreement between the US and EU, said the US envoy when responding to a ques-tion from business.

According to Mr. Hyatt, the U.S. bilateral economic relation-

ship with Bulgaria is modest, but growing. In 2013 the two-way trade relationship was up 10 percent from the previous

U.S. Trade Envoy and AmCham Communit y Discuss Bilateral Trade and TTIP

Valentin Georgiev with the certificate of appreciation from the United States Department of Commerce together with Kenneth E. Hyatt, Undersecretary for International Trade, Marcie B. Ries, U.S. ambassador and Thomas Bruns, U.S. commercial attach'e.

The economy expert Krassen Stanchev and George Brashnarov, Nemetschek Bulgaria.

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year to $836 million. After four months in 2014, bilateral trade is up more than 25 percent.

Mr. Hyatt praised Bulgaria’s IT sector and the good engi-neering background the country’s specialists have that could draw interest from U.S. companies.

The U.S. Department of Commerce recognized three busi-ness leaders for their work and contribution to promote bilateral trade, innovation, science and technologies, name-ly: Krassimira Chemishanska, general manager, Amgen, Nina Blagoeva, general manager, NDB, and Valentin Georgiev, executive director, AmCham Bulgaria. The lead-ers received certificates of appreciation from Undersecretary Ken Hyatt. � Kenneth E. Hyatt, Undersecretary for International Trade.

Kenneth E. Hyatt with Krassimira Chemishanska, Amgen that was recognized with a certificate of appreciation from the U. S. Department of Commerce.

Aneliya Erdly, AES Solar poses a question on energy issues. Next are Stefan Felstein, Citi, and Julian Nebreda, AES.

Over 100 members attended the event that took place at Kempinski Sofia hall.

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A successful Slovenian business-entre-preneur Mr. Sandi Cesko was a guest speaker before the audience of Atlantic Club of Bulgaria and AmCham Bulgaria on June 9th, 2014. His company, Studio Moderna, was created in 1992 and quickly took on the world market – catching on in over 21 countries, includ-ing the United States, China, and all across Europe. Studio Moderna’s first headquarters was in a small garage-of-fice with an area of 6 m2. Nowadays Mr Cesko’s company employs over 7,000 people with its own distribution network across Eastern Europe and the United States. His most popular product - Kosmodisk- has cured many.

During the AmCham business lunch Sandi Cesko shared thoughts about what he believes is the driving force of successful business. Short advice included not sitting and waiting for better times; old business model is broken; having a common sense when develop-ing of a business model; go to the U.S. market that is very competitive and suit-able for SME-s; Asian market is suitable for big corporations only.

During his lecture in front of the Atlantic Club Mr. Cesko discussed the global trends from his own perspective – as “an entrepreneur who started from noth-ing”. In his opinion the business world nowadays could be described by four main characteristics.

The first is globalization, due to which business relationships have effortlessly transferred on a global scene. Because of this phenomenon the total GDP in the last 10 years has grown faster than ever before.

The second characteristic – digitaliza-tion has also contributed considerably to the development of the global mar-ket. Digitalization overcomes the most difficult business barrier of all- geo-graphic distance. Digitalization will

thoroughly consume the business world, as we know it, and affect all industries (as it has already done with the publishing and the music ones). It will reform entrepreneurship with the new formula of the day- the company or business with the best performing ser-vices, the one which is most produc-tive, and the one which embraces all aspects of digitalization will become the winner, taking up the whole of the global market.

The third characteristic that will affect the above mentioned infrastructures are the climate changes and the crisis situa-tion of our ecology.

The fourth and last characteristic - the new social dynamics – can entirely reshape the current political scene of every society. This new trend, along with globalization, has unleashed many fantastic opportunities, but these are not equally distributed for all companies due to the ‘winner-takes-it-all’ paradigm. As this occurs, governments and political

parties perform little more than denying and finger pointing, but do not search for a solution to the multiple problems before our society (growing unemploy-ment and lack of perspective, to name a few).

Mr. Cesko also described what is believed to be of utmost importance to the success of a business – quality. Nowadays, companies have become more transparent and as such are expected to review what they are pro-ducing; what are their business and social values; and how they are contrib-uting to the social and environmental challenges that endanger modern soci-eties.

Mr. Cesko concluded his lecture with a certain ideal of his. From now on, the European institutions should work for the accomplishment of the European fairytale for a single European market, the plot of which should emphasize on the philosophy and dreams of a single European nation. �

Sandi Cesko Tells Successful Business Model

Mr. Sandi Cesko presents his story of a success business model.

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OSAC Bulgaria Country Council held its eight event for OSAC constituents and American Chamber of Commerce mem-bers on IPR and Brand protection on 17 June 2014. More than 50 participants from 26 private companies, 5 legal com-panies, an educational institution, and 5 government agencies attended the event.

Participants discussed in detail how companies in a variety of industries pro-tect their intellectual property and prod-ucts as well asthe challenges they face. Speakers included professionals from Hewlett-Packard, Merck, Phillip Morris, and British-American Tobacco. Representatives of various trade asso-ciations and law firms shared how they protect trademarks and intellectual prop-erty in Bulgaria for their American corpo-rate clients ranging from the IT, Pharmaceutical, Entertainment, Fashion, Tobacco, Spirits, Cosmetics and other industries.

Inspectors from the Customs Agency,

as well asLaw Enforcement Officers from the State Agency for National Security and the National Police pre-sented case studies of significant oper-ations involving theseizure ofcounter-feit products– both in transit and locally produced. Officers from the Ministry of Economic and Energy, the Ministry of Culture, the Patent Office, and the Supreme Prosecutor’s Office of Cassations touched on their institu-tions’ involvement in countering this trend and what initiatives they are undertaking to protectintellectual prop-erty and brandsmore effective.

There are currently two additional OSAC eventsupcoming events planned for 2014:

• TheOSAC/ISMA conference which will be held on 7-9 September

• The fourth SEE Regional Forum on Cybersecurity and Cybercrime, co-or-ganized with the State Agency for National Security and the ICT

Academy.

OSAC was established in 1985 under the Federal Advisory Committee Act to promote security cooperation between American private sector interest world-wide and the U.S. Department of State. The OSAC Council is comprised of 30 private sector and 4 public sector mem-ber organizations that represent spe-cific industries or agencies. Today, the OSAC partnership encompasses ten federal agencies and over 4,600 pri-vate organizations, from the business and academic communities to non-governmental and faith-based organi-zations.

The OSAC Bulgaria Country Council, launched in November 2012, is one of the 141 OSAC chapters around the globe attached to U.S. Embassies and consulates. For more information on OSAC, contact the Regional Security Office at the U.S. Embassy or visit the OSAC website or Linkedin group: OSAC Bulgaria Country Council. �

IPR and Brand IPR and Brand Protection ConferenceProtection Conference

OSAC Bulgaria Country Council gathered more than 50 participants from 26 private companies to discuss the issues of IPR and brand protection.

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IPR and Brand Protection Conference

Postbank Raises 250,000 BGN in only Six Months for the project “Best Start for Every Child”in partnership with UNICEFAll donations are made by clients, partners and employees through the special fund-raising platform developed by Postbank.

Postbank, one of the most socially committed companies in Bulgaria has raised 250,000 BGN under its strategic partner-ship with UNICEF “Best Start for Every Child”. The campaign results were announced at a special ceremony on June 12 gathering clients and partners of the financial institution. The American Chamber of Commerce in Bulgaria was an official partner of the event.

"Best Start for Every Child" initiative considerably adds to Postbank’s social responsibility efforts. Our strategic partner-ship with UNICEF is a natural step and a chance for more complete and efficient way to provide further support to our society. The initiative involves our entire team at all levels – from branch network employees who introduce the partnership to our clients, through our IT experts who developed the special online and ATM donation platform, to the management team who sought solutions for maximum efficiency. Our long-term goal is to provide more children with adequate social and health care, help them grow to become part of the economically active force and fulfil their potential in Bulgaria," said Postbank's CEO, Mrs. Petia Dimitrova, as a host of the event.

"UNICEF has adopted the best mission – the children of our planet. This mission allows us to unite people and various part-ner organizations who believe that children are our best chance for a better world. We carefully chose our partners and we only cooperate with institutions with high reputation. Postbank is an excellent example for a partner who is committed and respon-sible to our common mission. We are happy to join forces with the bank, its employees and customers to provide a better start for all young children in Bulgaria," the UNICEF Representative for Bulgaria, Mrs. Tanya Radocaj, said.

Postbank and UNICEF started a long-term cooperation to pro-vide support and to develop a network of Centers for Maternal and Child Health in more regions of Bulgaria. The first Centre is successfully operating in Shumen Region and another Center will open soon in Sliven Region. The ultimate goal is to imple-ment this home visit model at a national level and offer all families the needed support.

As part of its partnership with UNICEF Bulgaria, Postbank has made a commitment to promote the benefits of early childhood development programs among its employees, customers and partners, and to set up a broad fund-raising platform – dona-tions are possible at cash desks, via ATMs and online banking. All related transactions are exempt from fees and taxes.

Postbank firmly believes that growth and long-term sustainabil-ity of business are closely related to the overall welfare and development of community in which it operates. The bank is very active in the area of corporate social responsibility and traditionally implements a number of socially important projects in education, youth care, care for the environment, art, sports and corporate donations. Postbank is one of the most awarded financial institutions in Bulgaria having its huge contribution to the society and its well being as a result of all these CSR initia-tives. �

Postbank’s CEO Mrs. Petia Dimitrova (right) handled a check to UNICEF Representative for Bulgaria Mrs. Tanya Radocaj (left).

The young singer Krisia Todorova.

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„Diplomacy was not like chess. It was more like jazz.”

I like quoting the famous remark of the late U.S. diplomat, politician and authority on the Balkans Richard Holbrooke. It is a reliable antidote to all conspiracy theo-ries, because it describes the big game as an improvisation, rather than a wise and well-considered plan. It relies on human trial and mistake. It is true for diplomacy, as well as for politics.

It is good to remember such thoughts when looking for an answer to the ques-tion of why what happened in Bulgaria did indeed happen. Plamen Oresharski’s government survived for an entire year despite numerous mistakes, trials, scan-dals and protests. And it lost its balance exactly when it seemed to have gained a firm foothold.

What shook it was not an explosion but an implosion; not external pressure but an internal split. One of the partners, the

mandate-holder Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP), turned out

much weaker

than a stable cabinet required. While the other main partner, the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF), turned out much stronger. In the language of chess, zugzwang: the next move is clear. The MRF had to ask for a new deal. On October 5, it will get it.

Three events upset the equation that the four political powers represented in par-liament had devised after the fatal elec-tions of 2013:

� The protests against Delyan Peevski’s appointment as head of the State Agency for National Security deprived the government of moral legitimacy.

� The public conflict between Peevski and his former partner, banker Tsvetan Vassilev, undermined the economic

foundation and divided its supporters.

� The European Parliament elections on May 25, 2014, showed that GERB (Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria) was still the strongest Bulgarian party, that the Reformist Bloc could mobilize a liberally thinking urban minority – and that new actors like the former journalist Nikolay Barekov could jump into the fray.

New elections – that was the logical move. But since politics is not all chess, a few jazz improvisations were necessary to adapt the political dance for the reali-ties of life and allow the main actors to taste the attention of the audience. To his-tory, these improvisations will be just footnotes. But it will be good to list them and see how politics can sound like jazz.

GERB’s Boyko Borisov and MRF’s Lyutvi Mestan drank a symbolic cup of coffee in Kardzhali. Tsvetan Vasilev and Delyan Peevski accused each other of placing a

All That Jaz z , Bulgarian Way

By Boyko Vassilev

During negotiations led by the president Rosen Plevneliev, the leaders of all Bulgarian political parties represented both in the National Assembly and in the European Parliament agreed on early elections on October the 5th 2014.

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murder contract. Their complicated rela-tionships cost the peace of two of the few Bulgarian-owned banks. The BSP and the MRF publicly broke up at a news confer-ence that abounded with emotions char-acteristic of a recently divorced couple.

Political parties brandished different early election dates, demonstrating courage, although they perfectly knew Oct. 5 was the likely one. President Rosen Plevneliev took the initiative again and those who had been merciless against him suddenly calmed down. BSP leader Sergey Stanishev

resigned

and declared that from now on he would make a career in Brussels. In an unprec-edented declaration employers and trade unions called on political parties to get their act together and start working for Bulgaria, because things had got too hot.

The BSP and the MRF are afraid of the past one year, while GERB is afraid of the coming one. The worst thing is that they all have reasons to be afraid. As of now,

one thing is clear: GERB will be the win-ner on Oct. 5. From now on Boyko Borissov’s party has three options:

� It may try and gain absolute majority and form a government by itself or with the Reformist Bloc only. That is the most popular but the least likely option.

� It may govern with the discreet or the open support of the MRF. That is the most likely but the least popular option.

� Stanishev’s withdrawal and the delicate external support make the formation of a large coalition between GERB and the BSP increasingly likely; it will try to put the MRF on a diet and look for consent on several key national objec-tives. That option always exists but the main players will lose from it, while the periphery will remain open to any kind of populist alternatives.

Some people could see a fourth and a fifth option. But theorizing on the issue should not be hurried. Bulgarian politics abounds with coalition talk before elec-

tions anyway. It was such

putting the cart before the horse

that Oresharski’s government fell victim to: the eagerness to exclude GERB from power at all costs resulted in a policy of confrontation and revenge. Let people cast their votes freely, without pressure. Let emotions subside and make room for reason.

What has to be done is clear to everyone. In healthcare, radical reforms are needed. The gap in the energy sector needs to be fixed. The European funds need to be released. The country needs fresh energy and trust.

So, on the whole, the platform for Oct. 5 is clear. The only problem is that the date is under the sign of Libra – and as the astrology goes it is ruled by indecisive-ness, hesitation and excessive theoriz-ing.

In politics there is vanity, show, folly and all that jazz. Probably Holbrooke foresaw that, too. �

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AW-Tronics is an international trading com-pany, active on a particular field of the elec-tronic industry. It is an independent distribu-tor specialized in the sourcing for the major OEMs, CEMs and ODMs that face shortage of active and passive electronics compo-

nent. Our business is complementary to the structure of the pur-chasing department of these companies. The credibility of AW-Tronics is based on its ability to source the required parts and to deliver on time. AW-Tronics offers the reactivity of a broker and the reliability of a distributor. AW-Tronics is not linked by any con-tract to a manufacturer thus it has more flexibility .When seeking parts the distributors refer to their stock whereas AW-Tronics is sourcing worldwide. AW-Tronics customers compete in the global computing, telecommunications, automotive, consumer electron-ics, aviation equipment, medical technology, and other electronics sectors -- all rapidly changing and highly competitive. AW-Tronics’s private ownership and global management team provide the flex-ibility and responsiveness to deliver timely and unique solutions to meet dynamic supply chain challenges.

Contacts:Ali Caby

General ManagerTel: +359 2 448 51 52

Address: 51, Alexander Malinov Blvd., office 9A1712 Sofia

Nicholas Galabov is licensed architect in Bulgaria and California, with construction management certification form Lorman educa-tion. He is certified DGNB Consultant and “Green professional“ in California. Nicholas has been involved in project management and designs of mixed-use, residential, office, industrial, retail and parking projects, public-private partnerships, “brownfield” and infrastructure projects both in USA and Bulgaria:

Golden LEED certified “Capitol Area East End Complex”, with over 1,4 million square feet floor area; City of Sacramento Capitol area plan; The “green” warehouse of Heineken in Stara Zagora with excellent BREEAM certification; An 110,000 s. m. gross area commercial complex in Sofia. Among his clients are: Johnson Controls, Immoeast, Vivacom, Zagorka, Municipality of Sofia.

Nicholas is Vice- President of the Chamber of architects in Bulgaria; Expert to the European commission on energy efficien-cy; Executive Board member of the Architects’ Council of Europe.

Contacts:Nicholas Galabov

ArchitectTel.: +359 887 855 800

Address: 22 Latinka street, block 74, entrance B, ap. 21

1113 Sofia

NDB Ltd. is a Bulgarian private company established in 1995. It is a software distributor for Bulgaria of the most advanced solutions in the IT field - IBM Software, VMware,

Citrix, DataCore, Dell Software,Veeam, RedHat. The company has commercial, technical and administrative departments located in Sofia.

The company is an authorized training center for VMware and organizes technical courses by original VMware programs with a VMware VCP certified instructor.

In the office of NDB Ltd. exists IBM Technical Exploration Center (IBM TEC), equipped with the most modern technology called "baby cloud". The aim of the TEC is to prepare new software engineers, enabling tests, presentations, PoC, PoT, professional training for deployment, demonstrations of upgrades and new IBM products to our customers and partners.

With the help of its partners NDB Ltd. has implemented several of the largest national projects database and virtualization in Bulgaria. The company provides on-site support for critical Informix databases in the country. Customers of NDB Ltd. are many institutions of public administration, public and private com-panies, financial institutions and companies in the telecommuni-cations sector.

Contacts:Nina Blagoeva

General ManagerTel.: +359 2/8687985;

Address: 9, Vladimir Vazov Blvd.1510 Sofia

SOFITA is the first private trans-lation agency in Bulgaria,established in 1989. During the past years we have

established partnerships with clients from all over the world, exe-cuting interpreting and translation services in various fields (finance, banking, legal, medicine, pharmacy, automotive, soft-ware, IT, engineering etc.)SOFITA also provides servicesfor many European institutions and since 2008 it has been one of the main providers forthe Court of Justice of the EU.Together with APIS, SOFITA runs a legal database joint product – APIS-SOFITA BG LAW, encompassing the English translation of all Bulgarian acts in force.It is updated on a monthly basis.

We are certified under the ISO 9001 Standard and we are the first translation agency in Bulgaria that is certified under the European Standard for Translation Services EN15038. SOFITA is a founding member of the Bulgarian Association of Professional Translation and Interpretation Agencies.

Contacts:Ramona Stoyanova

OwnerTel.: +359 2 8585 000

Address: 7, Bulgaria Blvd., floor 11408 Sofia

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t r a v e l

I visited Florida for the first time exactly 20 years ago, at the beginning of sum-mer in 1994. It happened that I was traveling with friends from Hawaii to New York and we decided to stop over in Florida for 10 days or so. We arrived in the middle of the night in Orlando, where a tropical rain was pouring. The rainy season was just beginning; judg-ing by what I could see outside it was at its height. The wet weather in Florida, though, is not weeks and months of constant rain. The following morning the sun shone on the town and the blue color of the sky was as deep as it is only possible when the air is crystal clear. Our plan included an amusement after an amusement, followed by pleasures and entertainment again – so it is in Florida!

In 1994, after having some fun in Orlando, we drove off southwest to Sarasota and Tampa, which are located on the Mexican Gulf coast, and then headed southeast to Miami. A lot of emotions, a lot of impressions, a lot of pleasant memories. Now I know – it was

in those days that I developed my deep affection and love for that incredible state. It had never occurred to me that years later destiny would take me back there in a fascinating way: my job in the cruise industry requires frequent visits to Florida, as it is the cradle of modern cruising.

As a matter of fact, the Sunshine State,

as Americans lovingly call Florida, is a huge resort operating in full swing all year round. The beneficial subtropical climate, the endless sand beaches on both the eastern and the western coast of the state, the excellent infrastructure and the friendly people make it a pre-ferred resort and entertainment destina-tion for Americans and Canadians, Brazilians and Argentineans, German,

Florida BeckonsBy Vladimir Matov

Fort Lauderdale Beaches.

Star Island Madona’s House.

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Dutch, Spanish and French people and even… for Bulgarians!

Besides bright sun, warm sea and white beaches, Florida lures guests with its famous theme parks. Located near Orlando are Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney’s Hollywood Studious and Gatorland, to mention but a few.

Not far from Orlando is NASA’s pride: the Kennedy Space Center. Rockets, satellites, capsules, moon rovers – everything about aeronautics in one place. Visitors can watch from very close-up the launch of the next space-ship from Cape Canaveral. As a matter of fact, besides spaceships, at Cape Canaveral you can see huge cruise lin-ers too. A little further north is the popu-lar Daytona Beach and the road south passes heavenly corners like Palm Beach, Delray Beach, Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale. I will say a few words about the last one, because it is a major cruise port – it is actually the largest cruise port in the world! It has 18 miles of superb sand beaches, first-class hotels with some 20,000 beds, restaurants with excellent seafood and international cui-sine… The result is 8 million tourists a year!

About 30 miles south of Fort Lauderdale on highway US95 we enter Miami: color-ful, cosmopolitan, with a Latino taste, vibrating, unique. The city has always prompted associations with endless beach parties with graceful long-legged goddesses, cocktails and Caribbean rhythms. To me personally, that reputa-tion is a little overstated but it is true that Miami’s charm is in no small part based on the incredibly beautiful women you

will see there, the countless little restau-rants, bars, discos and night clubs of South Beach, where parties do not die away before the morning and start gain-ing speed again in the early afternoon. Still, there are a lot of other attractions in Miami that fascinate the millions of tour-ists. Just one example: a mini-cruise on a sightseeing boat around Star Island – an artificial island where only the rich and famous own houses, as you have to be at least a multimillionaire to feel comfort-able there. The interesting thing is that tour guides explain without any trace of embarrassment who owns which house, how they have earned the money to buy it, what they do at present, and so on. I cannot but recall how in Bulgaria nobody, not even the State Agency for National Security, knows who owns the huge pal-aces at the foot of Vitosha Mountain, the Black-Sea coast and elsewhere, all of

which are hidden from prying eyes behind high walls.

But let us go back to Miami. From here and from Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale some 20,000 passengers a week board cruises to the Bahamas, the Caribbean islands, the Panama Canal, the lovely ports of Honduras and Costa Rica, famous Playa del Carmen, Tulum and Cozumel in Mexico.

It is a great idea to choose a cruise from Miami that includes Key West – the southernmost part of the United States. One year I tried to reach Key West by car, thinking naively that if I set out from Miami early in the morning I will reach the goal by the afternoon. That is a lost cause! The road south is perfect – it is picturesque and quiet – but there are so many things to see and so many temp-tations that distract even the most pur-poseful driver. And I was not. In short, I could not reach Key West then – I returned to Miami late at night. I saw Key West a year later as a guest on a cruise ship. We sailed off from Miami in the late afternoon, had a good party on board in the evening, and we arrived fresh in Key West early in the morning. We saw the house of the great Hemingway with the extremely funny cats, walked the city far and wide, learned useful and useless information and sailed off to Jamaica and the Cayman Islands in the evening. Try it and you will see for yourself.

Florida and Key West are awaiting you. �

Fort Lauderdale Ocean Boulevard Promenade.

Miami Cruise Port.

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Members of the U.S. and German chambers of commerce in Bulgaria, soccer fans and media became part of the World Cup in Brazil through a happening at the Dragalevtsi Stadium dur-ing the game between the United States and Germany on June 26. In a highly emotional atmosphere the audience enjoyed live screening of the 1-0 game, while devouring copi-ous amounts of sausages and beer. Bulgarian soccer stars Plamen Nikolov, Marian Hristov, Daniel Borimirov and Georgi Georgiev attended the event as special guests. Some of the keenest fans had a chance to kick a ball against Nikolov, who played as a national goalkeeper during WC’1994.

Co-organizers of the supermarket chain LIDL collected some 2,000 Leva for the youth soccer school “Slivnishki Geroi.” Additionally, LIDL donated 4,000 Leva to help Bulgarians affected by the floods in Varna and Dobrich. �

Fans, Stars Watch U.S.-Germany Game Live

Brazilian samba dance.

Euphoria grasps the USA and Germany fans during the game.

Valentin Georgiev welcomes the guests together with the co-partners of the event - Mitko Vassilev, German-Bulgarian Chamber of Industry and Commerce, and Milena Dragiiska-Dencheva, Lidl.