Vice President Iliana Iotova spoke with the mayor of Grasse, Jerome Vieux. At his invitation and at the invitation of the cultural association Centre for the Arts, the Vice President is in the French town for the solemn celebration of the 145th anniversary of Bulgarian-French diplomatic relations with a concert by Bulgarian opera singers.

 

The main topic of the talks at the Grasse City Hall was the protection of essential oil producers at European level. Grasse is known as the capital of perfumery based on essential oils. For many years, it has been twinned with the Bulgarian town of Kazanlak, a centre for the production of essential rose oil. The Deputy Mayor of Kazanlak Srebra Kaseva also participated in the meeting. Jerome Vieux specially congratulated the Mayor of Kazanlak Galina Stoyanova for the excellent cooperation.

 

On the initiative of the Mayor of Grasse, an Association of Mayors for the Protection of Essential Oils was established some time ago, in which Kazanlak and Pavel Banya from Bulgaria participate. Currently, with joint efforts, with the active work of MEPs from Bulgaria and France, and with the support of other countries, the demands of the European Commission for the treatment of rose and lavender oil as a chemical product have been stopped. More work is needed in this direction, with mayors calling for greater investment in the industry.