The Association of Bulgarian Employers' Organizations (AOBE) presented its key priorities to the Acting Minister of Economy and Industry (MEI) Irina Shtonova at a meeting held on March 5, 2026, at the Bulgarian Industrial Chamber (BIA), which is the rotating chair of the ABEO for 2026.
" Over the past five years, the priorities of the AOBE have hardly changed, as there has been no progress on the vast majority of them, with the exception of national priorities - full membership in Schengen and the eurozone ," emphasized the chairman of the BIA, Dobri Mitrev , at the beginning of the meeting and called on the MII to be an advocate for business, " but not because we are to blame, but because we need to protect our positions in these difficult times ." According to the chairman of the BIA, global political uncertainty and the reluctance of politicians to take care of the industry lead to a deterioration in economic indicators, a decline in exports and investments. " Business feels uncomfortable, squeezed by constantly increasing regulations, rising energy and other prices, rising wages. All this affects inflation ," said Dobri Mitrev.
The President of the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) Tsvetan Simeonov stated that the employers' organizations will support any action of the Ministry, as long as it is aimed at the benefit of business. According to him, the caretaker government should focus on several key measures - preserving the current tax rates, guaranteeing the compensatory mechanism for high electricity prices, as well as easing the existing administrative regimes and difficulties for business. Simeonov also emphasized the need to facilitate the procedures for importing labor, emphasizing the need to shorten the deadlines for processing documents and introduce clear and motivated reasoning in visa refusals.
" The war in Iran is a deja vu from 2022, but this time from an energy point of view, Europe has mechanisms to limit negative impacts on our economy ," said Rumen Radev, the chairman of the Bulgarian Industrial Capital Association (BICA) . " There is some calm in terms of prices for natural gas and electricity, but this will not be the case for oil ," predicted the chairman of BICA. He called on Minister Shtonova to support employers on issues related to the labor market - in particular, to accelerate measures to ease the import of labor from third countries. " We are looking for labor from abroad not because we want to pay Bulgarian workers less, but because there are not enough Bulgarian workers, and in the entire spectrum of skills ," emphasized Rumen Radev.
The Executive Director of the Confederation of Employers and Industrialists in Bulgaria (CEIB) Boyan Mitrakiev raised the issue of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), calling on Minister Shtonova to coordinate a joint position towards the European institutions so as to protect Bulgarian producers from the affected sectors, with an emphasis on the chemical, fertilizer and agricultural sectors. According to the Executive Director of CBIB, Bulgarian exports have already started to lose markets due to the increased cost of raw materials. According to Boyan Mitrakiev, another topic on which the CEIB and the CEIB can work together is energy interconnection in the European Union.
For her part, Minister Shtonova committed her team to focus its work on the mechanism for compensation of non-household consumers in connection with high energy prices, as well as on the topic of labor imports from third countries. She also informed that the development of the Industrial Strategy of the Republic of Bulgaria is in its final stage and in the coming weeks the relevant discussion of the draft strategy with the business will take place.
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On behalf of the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the meeting was attended by Dobri Mitrev - Chairman of the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the rotating Chairman of the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Rumen Radev - Chairman of the Bulgarian Industrial Capital Assosiation, Tsvetan Simeonov - Chairman of the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Boyan Mitrakiev - Executive Director of the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Deputy Chairmen of the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Maria Mincheva and Stanislav Popdonchev, the Secretary General of the Bulgarian Industrail Capital Association, Assoc. Prof. Milena Angelova and Miroslava Markova - Chief Expert "International Cooperation and International Organizations" at the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Minister Shtonova was accompanied by Zhelyaz Enev, Director of the Directorate "Economic Policy" at the Ministry of Industry and Commerce .
AOBЕ unites the nationally representative employer organizations BICA, BIA, BCCI and CEIBG. The main goal of the organization is to consolidate, balance and represent the interests of its members. Enterprises, members of AOBЕ, produce 86% of the country's gross added value and employ 82% of all employees in our country.
