EURATEX in Bulgaria / 16 - 17 September 2010

At the invitation of BAATPE, EURATEX opened the 9th International Fashion Fair for professionals in Bulgaria – BGATE, together with Mr. Evgeny Angelov, Deputy Minster of Economy, Energy and Tourism, Mrs. Valeria Jekova, President of BAATPE and Mr. Henning Twesten, GTZ responsible in Bulgaria. The event was followed by a Press conference with BAATPE President Mrs Valeria Jekova, EURATEX General Director Mr. Francesco Marchi and EURATEX Board member Mr. Bertram Rollmann on the future of the Bulgarian industry.

At the margins of the BGate fair, EURATEX together with GTZ organised a workshop on the Western Balkans ( WB ) T&C industry. In presence of Bulgaria and Romania, representatives from Serbia, Macedonia and Albania presented a SWOT analysis regarding each industry. Romania presented the EU strategy for the Danube region. Possible common future actions could be identified with both organisations to increase their integration in the European T&C chain.

The Bulgarian Association (BAATPE) described the economic situation of T&C sector and presented also a SWOT analysis.

EURATEX informed on the state of play of (a) REACH candidate list & annex XIV; (b) the General Product Safety Directive; (c) the EP & Council Regulation on textile names and textile labelling.

A specific meeting will be organised due to diverging views within the Technical Clothing Group (TCG) Members, concerning Standardization of smart textiles, the future EU strategy for the Danube region and possible project to raise WB knowledge associations.