site.btaEconomy Minister Presents Bulgaria's Progress at Meeting of OECD Corporate Governance Committee

Minister of Economy and Industry Bogdan Bogdanov presented Thursday Bulgaria’s progress regarding state-owned enterprises at a meeting of the Committee on Corporate Governance to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the Economy Ministry said.

“We launched a programme for the rehabilitation of public enterprises. We are working to create a stable basis for their future development, as well as for the transparent spending of funds on their part,” said Bogdanov.  

Minister Bogdanov was the head of the Bulgarian delegation and presented the report on this country’s achieved results regarding the general framework of state-owned enterprises before the 41st meeting of the OECD Corporate Governance Committee  and the Working Party on State Ownership and Privatisation Practices. his is one of the key steps that is part of Bulgaria's OECD accession process.

"To realize the potential that these companies have, clear objectives, control mechanisms and priorities structured on a quarterly basis are necessary. We will implement a centralized system for monitoring and controlling the companies with data on financial and operational indicators in real time," he said and assured that Bulgaria has undertaken the necessary changes to its legislation and regulations for the implementation of the specific laws, so as to work in full compliance with the legal instruments of the OECD.

Bogdanov clearly expressed his position that Bulgaria's accession to the OECD is a key priority for Bulgaria and steps have already been taken to speed up the process. "The reforms we have undertaken are being carried out at the required pace," he was adamant.

The Minister of Economy discussed the process of Bulgaria's accession to the OECD during meetings with Kimmo Viertola  - Vice-Chairman of the Working Party on State Ownership and Privatisation Practices and with Gita Kothari. Deputy Director for Legal Affairs at OECD. This country has made significant progress in the implementation of the necessary reforms in the area of state enterprises.

"The government is actively working for a stable business and investment environment," stressed Bogdanov and pointed out that Bulgaria has made the most progress in implementing the rule of law over the past 12 months, according to the data in the new World Justice Project report.

The accession process includes simultaneous technical reviews by the relevant committees of the OECD and accession to the organization's legal instruments, the Ministry recalled. The presentation of the report is one of a series of steps, part of the accession process of Bulgaria to the OECD Corporate Governance Committee, which falls within the competence areas of the Ministry of Economy and Industry as the leading agency.

The Bulgarian delegation also included representatives of the Ministry of Economy and Industry, the Ministry of Energy, the Ministry of Agriculture and Food, the Public Enterprises and Control Agency, the Bulgarian Energy Holding and the Anti-Corruption Commission.