At a press conference today, February 5, 2026, the Association of Bulgarian Employers' Organizations (AOBE) presented its priorities for 2026. The press conference was attended by the heads of the AOBOR member employer organizations: Rumen Radev - Chairman of the Bulgarian Industrial Capital Association (BICA), Dobri Mitrev - Chairman of the Bulgarian Industrial Association (BIA) and rotating chairman of the AOBOR for 2026, Tsvetan Simeonov - Chairman of the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI), and Kiril Domuschiev - Chairman of the Confederation of Employers and Industrialists in Bulgaria (CEIBG).
National Priorities
"Unfortunately, political instability does not allow all of our priorities to happen at the pace we would like, so that we have a prosperous industry and richer Bulgarian citizens. Our most important national priority is macroeconomic and tax stability," said BIA Chairman Dobri Mitrev, presenting the national priorities around which the members of the AOBE are united. According to him, "our country must adhere to fiscal rules and the criteria of the eurozone. We have a good tax and social security model. Attempts to change it (in the draft budget for 2026) by increasing taxes and social security contributions brought people to the squares and we all know what happened. Regarding our priority of preserving and guaranteeing the market economy, it stems from inadequate legislative decisions, which we witnessed last year, and a bill was recently submitted to amend the Law on Deposit Insurance to create a state operator of the deposit system, which is necessary not only for the industry, but also for all citizens."
"We support the recalibration of the so-called Green Deal - "Yes" to decarbonization and carbon emission savings, but this should not be at the expense of enterprises, but should happen smoothly and in proportion to the capabilities of the companies, and should not distort the market," said Dobri Mitrev.
The completion of the process of Bulgaria's accession to the OECD and the removal of our country from the so-called grey list for money laundering are two other important national priorities of the AOBE. In this regard, Dobri Mitrev emphasized that Bulgaria is the only EU country that is on the so-called grey list and this has a serious impact both in terms of image and in terms of international banking transactions. "The urgent removal of Bulgaria from this list will contribute to increasing investment interest in our country," emphasized the Chairman of the BIA.
Last but not least, among the national priorities of the AOBE is the quality of education. "We cannot have a prosperous society if we do not have quality, accessible education, aimed not just at acquiring knowledge, but also at skills and competencies that reflect the needs of the Bulgarian labor market and the challenges facing the entire world - artificial intelligence, new technologies, automation, etc.," was categorically stated by the rotating chairman of the AOBE for 2026.
Business Environment and Economic Development
"Last year, the most significant thing that happened was the completion of the process of full European integration," said the Chairman of the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Rumen Radev, who presented the priorities of the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry in terms of the business environment and economic development.
"In terms of the business environment, what we have focused on is preserving the tax and social security model and tax and social security burden, as well as reducing the share of GDP that is redistributed through the state budget. Over the past 10 years, we have had a systematic, sustained growth in both tax and social security revenues as a share of GDP and the share of redistribution through expenditures in the state budget. That is why we were so sharp in our reactions when the discussion on the first version of the state budget for 2026 began. Reducing the administrative burden is also very important - we want to see real action in this direction. I cannot ignore the special attitude that should be applied to small and medium-sized enterprises in terms of administrative relief and targeted support. It is also high time to talk and act actively towards encouraging investments in the production and extractive sectors. What we redistribute through the budget comes from production, and in order to produce, we need our mineral and raw material base to develop. We hope that this year concrete steps will be taken in this direction”, shared Rumen Radev.
Among the priorities of the AOBE in terms of improving the business environment is the introduction of real program budgeting. “Financial resources must be directed to the implementation of specific programs, with intermediate and final goals set, to have monitoring of this implementation, and not to have a single-purpose absorption of funds. If there is real program budgeting, the efficiency of the public sector will also improve. We need to know what the administration is doing with our money. The notorious formula, the automatism for determining remuneration in the public sector must be categorically eliminated. Income policies can be individualized through adequate goal-setting and effectiveness”, was the chairman of the BICA categorically stated. Here is what he said:
"The polluter pays" - this elementary principle in determining the "household waste" fee, continues to be not applied, although we have been insisting on this for years. The principle that with each new regulation, two ineffective, ineffective and often duplicative regulations should be eliminated is also very important.
Limiting the shadow economy, corruption and cartelization is our constant policy. For them, the laws should simply be applied - we have good legislation, but it is often not applied like people.
Regarding investments, in addition to encouraging production investments, investments in infrastructure should also be encouraged, including for rail and sea transport. The right investments go through public-private partnerships and concessions - this is the model of effective management of resources directed to these areas. The same applies to investments in innovative technologies and development activities.
Last but not least, the introduction of the principles and good practices of corporate governance should occur not only in public companies whose shares are traded on the stock exchange, but also in every state or municipal company – in those companies that develop services, production, implementing policies of common interest.”
Energy and Green TransitionThe Chairman of the Bulgarian Energy and Renewable Energy Council Kiril Domuschiev presented the priorities of the Bulgarian Energy and Renewable Energy Council in the field of energy and the "green transition", emphasizing that they are not new, but continue to be relevant, even to an even greater extent, since Bulgaria has one of the most expensive energies in Europe, which means a loss of competitiveness. "A higher price for electricity means a higher price for our production, creates inflation, loss of markets, etc. Especially the energy-intensive industry is not competitive. Prices in Europe are also high and this is mainly due to the war in Ukraine. For example, the price for Bulgaria for 2025 was 107 euros/MWh, with only Italy, Romania and Hungary having a slightly higher price than ours (on the day-ahead market) - our price is 20% higher than that in Germany and 70% higher than France and Spain. Compared to the Scandinavian countries, our electricity is 5-6 times more expensive. This year it starts even more strikingly with 146 euros/MWh from January 1 to February 5 inclusive, which in my opinion is devastating for our economy. At the same time, we are fighting to continue this compensatory mechanism for high electricity prices, especially for the energy-intensive industry, which provides 25% of GDP." of our country. The EC allows this through its new clean industry mechanism, but we continue to delay this notification. In addition, instead of 50 euros/mwh as the lower threshold, our government has set 64 euros/mwh – I don’t know for what reason it is punishing its own economy. The funds received from compensations go to investments in green energy and energy saving,” said the chairman of CEIBG.
According to him, the adoption of a mechanism for long-term contracts for energy-intensive enterprises is extremely important if we want to achieve competitiveness. “For years we have been commenting that there should be such contracts, as there are throughout Europe. Only in Bulgaria are such companies forced to guess what the price would be on the exchange and buy energy day by day. There should be a special segment for these enterprises and every serious company should be able to conclude a long-term contract and know the cost price of electricity,” Kiril Domuschiev was categorical.
Among the priorities of the AOBE in the energy sector are the construction of new production capacities only at a competitive price for consumers and increasing the efficiency of state-owned enterprises in the sector. "Regarding new production capacities - this is a sore topic. As soon as the state starts doing something, thefts, schemes, frauds, etc. begin. Each new capacity must be created with a clear business plan and be financed by a specific investor, and not be financed by us through various compensation contracts, for a special price, etc., and there must be absolute transparency in the entire procedure. In previous years, we gave 2 billion leva annually for subsidies in electricity production (through bonuses, through preferential prices, through mandatory purchase, etc.) and in the period 2010-2025, over 20 billion leva poured in, without our energy system becoming more competitive and developing in a positive direction. On the contrary - we currently have one of the most expensive prices for electricity. We will continue to monitor the increase in the efficiency of state-owned enterprises in the energy sector, since business and citizens pay the bill - there must be a reasonable policy and good practices in the state sector, which continues to be a leading player,” said the chairman of CEIBG.
Here is what else Kiril Domuschiev said: “The full liberalization of the electricity market is very important, since we currently have cross-subsidization and market distortion – the industry subsidizes the price of electricity for households, instead of subsidizing prices for the poor through the Ministry of Social Affairs. Even I pay cheap electricity at home, without being poor. Assistance yes, but for the poor – everyone else has to pay the real price of electricity. Regarding the mass implementation of energy storage systems – that is where the future lies! Energy from renewable energy sources has great potential. Not only industry, but also households should be stimulated to invest in their own renewable energy sources. Part of the stimulation is to simplify procedures.”
Here is what the BCCI chairman said:
“The main task is to orient education towards the needs of business. We have been talking about this for many years, but it is not happening on the scale we would like. That is why it is important to introduce specific indicators for the quality of education. While salaries in the sector are increasing for everyone, without taking into account the results, we will go down. With several increases in teachers’ salaries, the result was an increase in functional illiteracy from 40 to 50% – there is no way that things can happen if good teachers are not encouraged.
We categorically raise the issue of developing a mechanism for determining the minimum wage. We cannot be a party to ILO Convention 131 and continue to apply the current formula. It is not right after the remarks made to the government by the European Commission even last year that the Minimum Wage Directive has been incorrectly transposed in Bulgaria – there has been no real result for more than a year now. Like any salary, the Minimum Wage is a result.
The simplification and acceleration of procedures for the import of labor is an important element of the economic environment. Information is available on how many people in Bulgaria are not working, despite the demand for labor. We have complaints from employers that not only are work visas being refused, but the refusals are becoming much more than the visas issued and a large part of the refusals are made without any motivation. Obviously, there are elements of corrupt practices. Simplifying procedures is the easiest medicine for avoiding corruption. And something very important: By importing labor, we bring in added value, paid for by other countries.
Social Policy and Healthcare
The priorities of the AOBE in the field of social policy and healthcare were presented by the chairman of the Bulgarian Industrial Association Dobri Mitrev. "We warmly welcome the broad consensus reached yesterday in the parliamentary Social Policy Committee, which allows pension funds to invest and multiply the funds of insured persons. This is an extremely correct step at this time. The possibility of increasing income from invested funds is quite large and we believe that the necessary majority will be found in the plenary hall to vote for these changes," Dobri Mitrev was categorical. Here is what he said:
"It is extremely important to restore the connection between social security contributions and social security rights. In recent years, we have witnessed severe deformations - this connection was seriously neglected. A huge part of Bulgarian citizens currently have the same pensions, despite the fact that some of them have been insured over the years, and the same pensions are also received by people who, for various reasons, have not been insured or have minimal contributions to the system. We categorically insist that the promised Roadmap for the development of the pension system be developed and that we draw the most correct solutions so that every Bulgarian citizen feels justice and that we stimulate young people to be insured. This is important for all pillars of insurance. When all three pillars are filled, every citizen will receive an adequate pension, a worthy replacement for the remuneration they received while they worked.
Increasing the efficiency of the social assistance system is extremely important, since it turns out that half of the country is on social assistance. Introducing income-based and property criteria – the aid must be for people who really need it.
Regarding disability pensions – in just 11 months of last year, we have over 240,000 newly granted disability pensions, and over 800,000 Bulgarian citizens have disability pensions. The state must conduct the necessary checks and remove all those who have benefited from this vicious practice on the backs of those who are truly in need.
The state and municipalities must actively build nurseries and kindergartens. The faster return of mothers to the labor market is extremely important. This also has a bearing on improving the demographic balance. If the state wants the Bulgarian nation to survive, the future is children and we must do everything possible to provide children and their parents with the best possible conditions for giving birth and raising children in Bulgaria.
For years, we have been insisting that the emphasis in the health reform be on prevention and prophylaxis, preliminary screening. We are the country in the EU with the most hospital beds per 1,000 residents, we are the leader in the number of hospitals. Huge funds are being poured into the health system through the NHIF budget, through the Ministry of Health, through the municipalities and even more through the so-called co-payment from the pockets of Bulgarian citizens. Against this background, there is no improvement in the indicators. The very fact of the newly granted disability pensions indicates that there is actually no positive result from these huge funds and the huge number of hospital beds and hospitals.”
***
The priorities of the AOBE will be presented to the political forces during meetings that the AOBE is about to organize.
***
Here you can download the following materials from the press conference:
