site.btaUPDATED Tourism Ministry Working Group to Explore Business Proposals on Visa, Personnel Issues

Tourism Minister Miroslav Borshosh said that a working group will be established in the ministry to consider all proposals from businesses, institutions and organizations presented at a round table on the topic "Bulgaria in Schengen: Challenges and Opportunities for Tourism", organized on Tuesday by the Bulgarian Union of Balneology and SPA Tourism (BUBSPA). BTA is a media partner of the forum.

Among the topics discussed by business circles were visa issues and the lack of personnel.

"You somehow formed this working group yourselves, which the State should have done, because you know part of the state administration are related to which problems are and by whom they should be solved," the Minister said during the forum. He pointed out that the ministers from the other departments will be involved in the issues raised on Tuesday by the business community, as well as the leaderships of the parliamentary committees on foreign policy and tourism, with regard to what is related to legislative changes.

The Minister pointed out that future changes must be in the context of national security, as well as Bulgaria's commitments to European institutions.

"A lot of time has been lost, it doesn't matter who bears what blame in these last four years, the question is what we will do in the next four years," said Borshosh.

Following are sound bites from Tuesday's forum:

Dr. Meglena Plugchieva, Ambassador of the Bulgarian Union of Balneology and SPA Tourism, which organized Tuesday's forum, pointed out that in connection with the beginning of the summer season, by Easter, most of the formulated problems should find their solution, referring to the working and tourist visas. Among the other problems facing the business sector, Plugchieva highlighted the lack of manpower, the qualification of personnel, which is in direct correlation with the need to import labour from third countries. She reminded that several institutions are now dealing with the issue, but noted that there is not enough coordination between them, and there is a lack of capacity. In general, the procedure for the arrival of foreign workers is cumbersome, taking at least 2-3 months. Plugchieva also pointed out the heavy red tape in hiring young people under 18 from the tourism sector. Another difficulty for businesses is dealing with banks in relation to opening and closing accounts for workers from third countries.

Georgi Vodenski, Director of the Consular Relations Directorate at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, explained that the ministry's problem is a staff shortage and until this is resolved, there is no way to improve access to consular services for issuing visas. He added that letters have been sent by the Foreign Ministry to the Ministry of Finance, which however refuses to allocate additional funds for administrative posts.  

Nikolai Vanchev, an expert in the Consular Relations Directorate at the Foreign Ministry, pointed out that salaries at the Foreign Ministry are among the lowest in the civil service, with young diplomats and trainee attachés receiving salaries of BGN 1,200-1,400. There are vacancies for consuls but no one wants to fill them, he said. 

Lyudmila Krastanova, a representative of the Ministry of Interior's Migration Directorate, said changes to the Foreigners in the Republic of Bulgaria Act are being proposed to address the problems identified. The proposed changes aim to address weaknesses and gaps related to the residence permit procedure. She stressed that the Migration Directorate was striving to strike a balance between the speedy implementation of procedures and the obligation to protect public order.

Ana Yakimova, Head of the Department of Legal Migration at the State Agency for National Security (SANS), drew attention to the lack of regulation of intermediary activities related to the employment of foreigners from third countries. She also highlighted the growing number of criminal groups involved in human trafficking and the need for a systematic approach to prevention. Yakimova identified false criminal records of third-country workers as another problem. 

Hristina Hristova, Minister of Labour and Social Policy between 2003 and 2005, also called for changes at the level of European legislation to ease access for third-country workers. She said a study by the Employment Agency showed that there would be a need for 265,000 people on the labour market this year. She called on the authorities to seek a lobby to initiate changes in directives and regulations that concern the labour market or to achieve exemptions for Bulgaria, as there are for other EU countries, for example Austria. 

Milena Georgieva, Deputy Executive Director of the Employment Agency, explained that the platform for electronic submission of documents for seasonal workers with the right to stay up to 90 days in the country works well and urged employers to take advantage of it because it would be facilitation for them. 

Yordanka Fandakova, Chair of the Foreign Policy Committee in the National Assembly from the GERB-UDF group, outlined the lack of political stability as a major problem in recent years. 

Dr. Daniela Stoeva, Deputy Chair of the Association of Bulgarian Tour Operators and Travel Agents (ABTTA) pointed out that the accession to Schengen has played its positive role because especially along the Romania – Bulgaria - Greece axis, movement is facilitated and the product becomes more attractive. At the same time, she said that sometimes a situation arises where tourist packages are made with Romania as the starting point because the Romanian visa is obtained in a much shorter procedure. Foreign tourists are turned away because of the time-consuming visa procedure, she said. For this reason, Stoeva pointed out that a good first step would be to ensure at least electronic submission of visa documents.

Ivelin Zhelyazkov, Director of Tripartite Cooperation at the Bulgarian Industrial Capital Association, reminded that there is a European regulation ready for e-visas - the so-called digital visas. There is a platform that should start to be implemented on January 1, 2025 and by 2031 it should be applied in all EU countries, Zhelyazkov said and pointed out that Bulgaria could benefit from the regulation.