The main guidelines in the implementation of BICA's Industrial Policy are subordinated to the desire to create a business environment better than that of other European countries, with the aim of creating conditions for accelerated economic growth and include:
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Active dialogue and joint work with related employer organizations and social partners, with state and public institutions in the development of positions, related to the priorities in the development of the Bulgarian Industry:
- Development of positions on current economic measures with a view to ensuring the implementation of strategic priorities;
- Activation and enrichment of the activities of the National Economic Council established under the Minister of Economy, with a view to the implementation of policies and measures to promote the development of production;
- Preparation of joint positions on procedures and implementation of projects financed with European funds, including the National Partnership Agreement and the operational and national programs to it, as well as the National Recovery and Resilience Plan;
- Activation and enrichment of the activities of the National Economic Council established under the Minister of Economy, with a view to the implementation of policies and measures to promote the development of production;
- Preparation of joint positions on procedures and implementation of projects financed with European funds, including the National Partnership Agreement and the operational and national programs to it, as well as the National Recovery and Resilience Plan;
– Development of action plans at the sectoral level;
– Active and constructive dialogue within the NCTC and the bodies built on a Tripartite principle;
- Active position and effective work in the Economic and Social Council of the Republic of Bulgaria;
– Encouraging the expansion of the partnership between nationally representative employers' organizations and the government by signing bilateral agreements on business environment and economic development issues;
- Active participation of BRO - members of BICA in the sectoral councils of ministries, agencies and other government departments.
– Active and constructive dialogue within the NCTC and the bodies built on a Tripartite principle;
- Active position and effective work in the Economic and Social Council of the Republic of Bulgaria;
– Encouraging the expansion of the partnership between nationally representative employers' organizations and the government by signing bilateral agreements on business environment and economic development issues;
- Active participation of BRO - members of BICA in the sectoral councils of ministries, agencies and other government departments.
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Improving the regulatory framework for "free" business development and encouraging the start-up and performance of business activities:
- Preparation of positions with a view to achieving effective State administration;
– Maximum simplification and digitization, while ensuring cyber security, of all procedures and services, administered by the executive power;
– Increasing the transparency of public procurement procedures (inclusion in the assessment committees of representatives of branch organizations, expanding the range of data entered in the Register of public procurements), severing the relationship between the contracting authority and the authority performing the ranking;
– Maximum simplification and digitization, while ensuring cyber security, of all procedures and services, administered by the executive power;
– Increasing the transparency of public procurement procedures (inclusion in the assessment committees of representatives of branch organizations, expanding the range of data entered in the Register of public procurements), severing the relationship between the contracting authority and the authority performing the ranking;
– Conducting consultations with all interested parties when drafting normative acts and introducing a mandatory preliminary assessment of their impact, including on the business environment;
- Construction of integrated registers with the aim of freeing individuals and legal entities from the obligation to prove to the administration data from these systems, reducing the requirements for notarization of signatures;
– Monitoring of the compliance between the fees under administrative regulation and the administrative costs of their exercise;
- Construction of integrated registers with the aim of freeing individuals and legal entities from the obligation to prove to the administration data from these systems, reducing the requirements for notarization of signatures;
– Monitoring of the compliance between the fees under administrative regulation and the administrative costs of their exercise;
– Application of the principle of tacit consent by presumption – the principle of tacit consent to be introduced into the regulatory framework as a rule for all cases in which it is not expressly stated otherwise
– In support of the initiative for better regulation, the regulatory regimes should be reviewed and reduced to the minimum required by European legislation, with fees up to the amount of the relevant costs and with tacit consent wherever possible and that there should be no complication of the regulations by the Bulgarian state with norms and documents that are not required by European legislation;
– In support of the initiative for better regulation, the regulatory regimes should be reviewed and reduced to the minimum required by European legislation, with fees up to the amount of the relevant costs and with tacit consent wherever possible and that there should be no complication of the regulations by the Bulgarian state with norms and documents that are not required by European legislation;
- Optimizing the staffing of the State administration with the aim of at least 15% reductions - BICA believes, that the reform and reduction of the State administration can be more ambitious, certification of administrative capacity and the rapid introduction of digital processes and services.
- E-Government - acceleration of activities for the introduction of E-government, while ensuring cyber security, so that the State can communicate with businesses and citizens transparently, more efficiently, improving the business environment and reducing the level of corruption.
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Effective investment of funds from the European funds for the development of the Bulgarian economy:
- Participation in the monitoring of the implementation of the strategic documents for the 2014-2020 program period of financing with funds from the European funds, as well as initiating the preparation of a full analysis of the achieved implementation, the identified problems, gaps and the identified measures to improve the procedural implementations in the next planning period;
- Participation in the development and implementation of programs and mechanisms under the Next Generation EU instruments, the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism, the Partnership Agreement and the Cohesion Policy operational programs - 2021-2027, the Just Transition Mechanism, REACT-EU, as well as other measures and policies of the European Union, including on migration, border management and security, and the common agricultural policy. BICA supports the efforts to approve the NRRP and prepare projects for the debt part. Supports all efforts to shorten the time between approval and receipt of grants, as well as to simplify related procedures;
– Developing opinions and conducting active policies in the following areas:
- Development of entrepreneurship, based on research, growth and innovation - priority support for measures aimed at developing and implementing product and production innovations;
- Increasing the competitiveness of Bulgarian enterprises through direct measures for the development of management capacity, technological modernization, product diversification;
- Increasing the overall resource efficiency of enterprises, including energy efficiency, optimization of human resources, maximum utilization of material resources and opportunities for recycling, prioritization of green economy development, including implementation of new technological solutions;
- Promotion of opportunities for cooperation between enterprises, including support of projects for the development of cluster structures, industry-integrated technological zones, resource-separable production hubs, logistics centers, etc.;
- Active participation in the development, implementation and monitoring of the implementation of policies and projects in the field of the low-carbon economy, the circular economy and the declared transition to the hydrogen economy in all directions - industry, energy, transport, agriculture and others;
- Active participation in structuring the work of the State Agency for Scientific Research and Innovation and active cooperation in the implementation of its functions;
- Prioritization of sectoral policies in order to focus financial resources on strategic industries with distinct competitive advantages, high added value and export potential;
- Active participation in structuring the work of the State Agency for Scientific Research and Innovation and active cooperation in the implementation of its functions;
- Prioritization of sectoral policies in order to focus financial resources on strategic industries with distinct competitive advantages, high added value and export potential;
– Supporting entrepreneurship and establishing industrial infrastructure for sustainable development of SMEs;
– Encouragement and vigorous support of entrepreneurs investing in modernization and/or construction of production facilities and technological processes leading to permanent improvement of technological possibilities for efficient production through tax incentives, direct or indirect financial subsidies, pointing out good examples, promoting established practices, on-site working visits to enterprises and cooperation with the media (including within the framework of the campaign "To bring success out of anonymity"), institutional support and demonstration of a sense of national interest during state visits abroad, respectively reception of foreign delegations;
– Encouragement and vigorous support of entrepreneurs investing in modernization and/or construction of production facilities and technological processes leading to permanent improvement of technological possibilities for efficient production through tax incentives, direct or indirect financial subsidies, pointing out good examples, promoting established practices, on-site working visits to enterprises and cooperation with the media (including within the framework of the campaign "To bring success out of anonymity"), institutional support and demonstration of a sense of national interest during state visits abroad, respectively reception of foreign delegations;
- Development of adequate instruments to promote the growth of enterprises and assistance in providing additional resources to existing and new instruments - both as grant opportunities and remunerative nature;
– Development of measures to support entrepreneurship through exchange with international partner organizations in line with participation in European projects;
– Development of measures to support entrepreneurship through exchange with international partner organizations in line with participation in European projects;
- Participation in the development of qualification criteria for projects financed under the operational programs.
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Improving conditions for competitiveness:
- Guaranteeing the irreversibility of reform processes in the energy sector - full liberalization, overcoming deficits and imbalances in the sector, building an adequate energy infrastructure, full commercial and network connectivity with the common European electricity market and reducing energy dependence;
- Limiting looting and inefficiency in the Bulgarian energy industry and reducing the price of electricity for industry, including finding a solution to the problems created by long-term power purchase agreements;
- Limiting looting and inefficiency in the Bulgarian energy industry and reducing the price of electricity for industry, including finding a solution to the problems created by long-term power purchase agreements;
– Public discussion of the Strategic guidelines for the development of the Bulgarian energy industry, based on expert reports, power balances, energy production balances, the development of transmission infrastructures. The effects on national sovereignty, the competitiveness of the Bulgarian economy and the sustainability of systems such as the macroeconomic and demographic environment should also be taken into account. Development of opinions, coordination of legislative and normative initiatives, as well as active enforcement of positions in the implementation of pricing in the "Electricity" sector:
- In the event of a deviation from the long-term average price of electricity in the EU exceeding 50%, switching to a crisis model to compensate for the excessively high price of electricity to ALL consumers on the free market - additional preferences for electricity-intensive industry in accordance with European policies;
- Control over the administratively determined price components, in particular when determining the "obligations to society" component, including monitoring of the functioning of the power system security fund;
- Strengthening the capabilities and capacity of specialized institutions such as the CPC and CEWR for actions against cartels and against market manipulations;
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Control over the commercial practices of electricity producers, traders and operators of distribution systems with a view to guaranteeing open, fair market mechanisms - through the platforms of the "Bulgarian Independent Energy Exchange";
– Institutional and organizational strengthening and development of the established National Center "Economy of Light";
- Promotion of measures for quick implementation of administrative and criminal sanctions for violations to limit the gray sector in the economy and for corruption;
– Effective regulation of monopoly activities and effective enforcement of the legal provision for monopoly companies, public service providers and state-owned enterprises to disclose information as public companies, including by strengthening the regulator CFO;
- Supporting national political resources to oppose the introduction of such common European policies, including tax harmonization within the European Union and the introduction of quotas on company boards for women and/or representatives of minority groups, which deprive the country's economy of competitiveness benefits;
- Establishing and confirming clear rules and conditions for the implementation of public-private partnership with a view to expanding the participation of business in the financing and construction of objects of public state and municipal property through concessions and other forms of joint activity;
- Participation in the development of measures to overcome intercompany indebtedness, including by increasing the efficiency of the judicial system and bankruptcy procedures;
- Participation in the development of measures to overcome intercompany indebtedness, including by increasing the efficiency of the judicial system and bankruptcy procedures;
– Directing national and international funding funds supporting small and medium-sized enterprises in areas agreed with the social partners;
- Urgent actions to overcome the extremely difficult situation in bus transport - due to the drastic increase in fuel prices, caused by both the armed conflict and the regulations in the field of the transition to climate neutrality.
- Urgent actions to overcome the extremely difficult situation in bus transport - due to the drastic increase in fuel prices, caused by both the armed conflict and the regulations in the field of the transition to climate neutrality.
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Promotion of the export of Bulgarian goods and services:
– Economization of foreign policy, i.e. compliance and subordination to the national economic interest;
– The commercial and economic affairs offices of the respective foreign missions are fully available to Bulgarian businesses, with annual activity plans certified by the employer organizations;
- Development and systematic implementation of a program for business awareness about the possibilities for the successful sale of Bulgarian goods and services on markets outside our country;
– The commercial and economic affairs offices of the respective foreign missions are fully available to Bulgarian businesses, with annual activity plans certified by the employer organizations;
- Development and systematic implementation of a program for business awareness about the possibilities for the successful sale of Bulgarian goods and services on markets outside our country;
- Directing of funds for targeted financing of small and medium-sized enterprises in their initiatives for the sale/realization of Bulgarian goods and services on foreign markets for our country;
- Encouraging the implementation of credit guarantee schemes for export-oriented enterprises and export insurance.
- Encouraging the implementation of credit guarantee schemes for export-oriented enterprises and export insurance.
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Promotion of joint project participation of Bulgarian companies with partners from EU member states
BICA considers the importance of the development of the model of Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEI) - also IPCEI - these projects represent a very important contribution to the economic growth, employment and competitiveness of industry and the EU economy in view of their positive secondary consequences for the internal market and European society. The SGEI model enables the pooling of knowledge, expertise, financial resources and economic actors from across the EU to address significant market inefficiencies or significant systemic weaknesses and societal challenges that could not be addressed in any other way. They are designed to bring together the public and private sectors to undertake large-scale projects that bring significant benefits to the EU and its citizens. Considering the above, BICA will work on the development of strategic documents, project concepts and implementation criteria in the following areas:
- Main base technologies – Batteries, Hydrogen and hydrogen technologies;
- Energy Strategy for Europe;
- Climate and energy policies;
- Energy security;
- Introduction of the so-called Smart metering (Net metering), i.e. virtual energy storage by users of solar systems in order to cover their own electricity needs;
- Electronics, trans-European transport and energy networks, incl. flagship initiatives such as the Innovation Union, Digital Agenda for Europe, Resource Efficiency Europe and Industrial Policy for the Globalization Era;
- Digitization of industry and businesses.
