The programs and the opportunities for education, internship and entrepreneurship among youngsters insured by the EU are practically endless, as long as they are ambitious, active and search for the necessary information. This was the common statement of the Members of the European Parliament Mr. Andrey Kovatchev and Mr. Angel Dzhambazki during the lecture “Are you ready for your own business” that took place in the New Bulgarian University in Sofia.
The youth unemployment rate in the EU is almost 20% with Greece having the highest rate – 45% and Bulgaria being in the middle. Mr. Angel Dzhambazki said that the good education is the best option to turn this trend around and to provide young people with opportunities to find job. He added that it is a bit more difficult for young people to get into entrepreneurship which is also seen as a job alternative. However, Dzhambazki outlined about 10 programs which can finance young people – micro, for investments or for innovations.
“It is not for the EU or the government to find us job but to provide the relevant instruments to encourage entrepreneurship,” said Mr. Andrey Kovatchev. According to him, the connection between the education and the needs of the real business is broken which results in many young people being unable to find job after graduation and being forced to retrain. “The European programs funding is for free, however, the bureaucracy and the documentation connected with the reporting are very serious. The other option is to take a favorable business credit which should be paid back after this,” explained Mr. Kovatchev the advantages and disadvantages of European funding.
The obstacles for young people in Bulgaria to start their own business are mainly two – on one hand, corruption and bureaucracy in the administration and on the other, the clash between digital and analog people, answered Angel Dzhambazki to a student’s question. The education is extremely important and people should self-educate themselves and be awarded in order to keep pace with the developments. According to Mr. Andrey Kovatchev, another obstacle is the slow, ineffective legal system. He added that the average administrative echelon is sabotaging the introduction of the Electronic Government which is supposed to solve the problem with the bureaucracy, going from a counter to counter and the corruption pressure.
Today’s debate is part of the “Europe and I” project which the Bulgarian School of Politics “Dimitry Panitza” is implementing with the support of the European Parliament. The aim is to provoke the interest and the commitment of young Bulgarians towards the work of the European Parliament and their development opportunities in the EU.
Next year, during project BSoP will organize another debate with students about the role of free media for democracy in the European context, as well as an online photo competition, exhibition and discussion forum entitled “Am I going to vote on the next EU elections and why?”.