site.btaFrequent Cabinet Changes in Bulgaria Impede Industry's Handling Green, Digital Transition, Experts Find

Frequent cabinet changes in Bulgaria make it difficult for industry to handle the green and digital transition, a national survey found.

The results of the survey, conducted under a TWINNING Project "Supporting Just Twin Transition of European Industries", were presented at a national webinar here on Monday by Gabriela Dimitrova, Director for International Cooperation and International Organizations at the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI).

The 20-month project was launched in 2023 and includes Bulgaria, Belgium, Spain, Poland, Slovakia, Montenegro and North Macedonia as partner countries and a Croatian organization as lead.

Interviewed as part of the survey, twin transition experts recommended, among other things, less frequent cabinet changes. They believe that industry needs more information and transparency with regard to the twin transition, targeted financial policy (participation in projects providing financial support projects to companies for successful transition), raising awareness of twin transition requirements and regulations, and coordinated actions at country and sector level. 

The experts identified the following threats during the twin transition: the transition itself takes too long, information on the time for recoupment of investments in renewable energy sources is no available, and small companies lack the skilled human resources to develop an innovation capability. Some experts fear that the costs of the services offered by a particular company may rise, that the administrative burdens involved in submitting reports and red tape may increase thus cutting the time for work, that materials may appreciate, that a larger amount of investments may be required, and that there is no trained skilled staff to handle the new technologies.

Representatives of various industries, employers and workers of various ages were also polled under the project. Ninety per cent of respondents said they expect benefits from the twin transition in the form of increased competitiveness. Sixty per cent saw benefits in terms of new customers and markets, 50% targeted energy efficiency, and 30% expect lower costs. 

Asked about the challenges they see as posed by the twin transition, those polled cited diverging information (60%), administrative burdens (60%), scarcity of skilled personnel to implement the transition (60%), frequent changes in rules and requirements (40%), and higher costs of innovations (40%).

Regarding the steps taken to go ahead with the twin transition, 70% of those polled cited the application of energy efficiency principles, 70% the implementation of innovations, 60% team training in new skills matching innovations, and 40% the application of new technologies in production and streamlining activity for environmental sustainability.

Sixty per cent of respondents said that information on the green deal is available but believe that more training can be delivered, while 40% insisted on a broader awareness campaign. None said that they had full information on the subject, Dimitrova commented.

Again within the framework of the project, a meeting was held in February with a focus group involving employers, employees and experts of different sectors. They recommended, basically, that in order to be achieved, the green transition should focus on small and medium-sized enterprises and on the human person: factory and office workers, managers and consumers, the expert said. Regional positioning is relevant, too, both in respect of natural resources, ecosystems and social systems and depending on the specific region where a company operates, its twin transition activities will vary from those in the neighbouring region. Financial resources were identified as key to the implementation of 80% of the twin transition measures taken by business and the State. Time is of the essence, too: the twin transition happens quite quickly in certain sectors like renewable energy sources, while it is slower in other sectors like agriculture. In still other sectors, like ICT, the transformation is constant.

BCCI Vice President Vasil Todorov said that the transformation is inevitable and Bulgarian business should be prepared for it. Regarding the green transition, Todorov said that meeting the target of Europewide carbon neutrality is as important as doing this in a way consistent with the needs of economic development and European companies' viability and competitiveness with companies in the rest of the world.