site.btaDeputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Lyudmila Petkova Heads Economy of Light Public Council

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Lyudmila Petkova headed the Economy of Light Public Council, the Association of Industrial Capital in Bulgaria (BICA) said on Monday. Created in 2009, at the initiative of BICA, with the aim of better coordination and cooperation at the national level for effective formulation and implementation of strategies to combat the informal economy, the Council unites the efforts of state bodies, social partners, municipalities, media, civil society, to end gray practices, to fight corruption and to ensure a fair competitive environment, BICA said.

"Undeclared work and the shadow economy do not just distort the market environment, they put the whole society at risk of economic and social instability. These two phenomena pose a serious challenge to any modern economy, undermine the rules of legal trade and lead to significant losses of government tax revenue and insurances. The lack of reforms and the poor functioning of a number of systems affect the clarification of the economy. This limits the possibilities for public investments in education, health care and social security", said BICA Chair  Vasil Velev at the opening of the first meeting of the Public Council for 2024

"Unfortunately, in Bulgaria, labour market policies lag behind European and international trends. This creates a very serious prerequisite for a crisis in the competitiveness of both citizens and our businesses. I believe that in the next parliament we will have the opportunity to pay significant attention to the link between the labour market and education, between the gray economy and competitiveness. It would be a crime if we don't do it," said Denitsa Sacheva, head of the Committee on Labour, Social and Demographic Policy.