site.btaBICA, Deputy Prime Minister Discuss Measures to Improve Business Conditions

Members of the National Council of the Bulgarian Industrial Capital Association and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Innovation and Growth Tomislav Donchev on Friday discussed acceleration of operational programmes, the National Recovery and Resilience Plan and measures to improve business conditions.

"For the third year now Bulgaria’s industry is in crisis. In January 2025, industrial production dropped at 90% of the 2021 level.  We have a crisis that is basically a consequence of the crisis in Europe caused by expensive energy, reciprocal sanctions, lack of human resources and administrative burdens. These are the conditions in which Bulgarian businesses operate, survive and try to develop. That is why we believe that European funding is among the important factors for getting out of the crisis and increasing investment," said BICA Chairman Vasil Velev.

According to Deputy Prime Minister Donchev, business-state relations are not limited to EU funding. "The state is a debtor to enterprises in terms of modernization policies and infrastructure construction. Our country needs to improve revenue collection in order to be able to increase investment in them," he said.

According to him, the entire cabinet is currently making every effort to revive European funding. He said that after a check it was found that the payment levels under the operational programmes for four years amounted to only 8.5%, those under the Recovery and Resilience Plan were 12%, and Bulgaria had already lost BGN 320 million under the plan. "The deadline for the implementation of the plan is August 2026, and for the approved projects procurement has not been opened. However, I am optimistic that with good organization we will be able to develop schemes that will reach the business as quickly as possible," he said.  He added that digitalization, innovation and energy efficiency would be the main focus.

The meeting highlighted vocational education and improving labour skills. For BICA, education is one of the most important priorities and proper structuring of the enrolment plan in educational institutions is one half of the work to be done to improve it. Other key tasks include creating interest among children and their parents in vocational education, mathematics, science and technology. Deputy Prime Minister Donchev expressed strong support for supporting and accelerating reforms in education. He added that the state and business should work together to raise the visibility of Bulgarian industry, its achievements and the opportunities it offers for career development.

The meeting also covered topics like improving the operations of the Executive Agency for the Promotion of Small and Medium Enterprises, developing a social climate plan, speeding up labor migration, calculating the minimum wage, and ensuring fair competition, among others.