- Prepared more than 90 opinions and positions (including on EU legislation) on current topics in the field of energy and environment, crisis in Ukraine, labor market and labor migration, education, budget and tax policy, public insurance, company law, industrial development, European Green Pact, National Plan for Recovery and Sustainability, Strategy and Action Plan for the transition to circular economy of the Republic of Bulgaria for 2022 – 2027, Long-term strategy of the Republic of Bulgaria for Mitigation of Climate change until 2050, etc.
- Over 60 participations in meetings of social partnership bodies, incl. NCTC, ESC, etc.
- Over 30 participations in forums of international organizations – International Labour Organization, European Economic and Social Committee, BusinessEurope, EuroFound, etc.
- Over 100 business meetings with representatives of the government, diplomatic and trade missions, branch organizations and companies;
- Over 100 seminars and webinars on current business issues,
- Four surveys were implemented: on the impact of the war in Ukraine on business (in March), on high energy prices (in June), on the European Green Deal (in July) and 2022 through the eyes of business (in December).
- Organized numerous public events, including:
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- Discussion forum “Economy in times of crisis” (19.04.2022)
- Presentation of the “Plastic Pact Bulgaria” initiative (11.04.2022)
- Open doors day at BIA (27.04.2022)
- Open doors day at BIA Court of Arbitration (30.09.2022)
- Forum “Business and regions” (04.10.2022)
- Round table of BIA Court of Arbitration (30.11.2022)
- Events on projects, implemented by BIA;
- Essay competition on a topic of choice “The entrepreneur, who inspires me” or “I would invest in…” on the occasion of the 42nd anniversary of the founding of BIA;
- BIA was an institutional partner of Powers Summit, Digital4Plovdiv, FinX conference, BlackSeaChain, „Green Transition: the Green Deal – innovations, investments and fair transition”, national contest “The greenest companies in Bulgaria”, Annual awards of B2B Media, „PRIA Environment Bulgaria Conference“ (with the participation of the ministers of environment of Bulgaria and Romania), a series of events of Manager magazine, Enterprise magazine, Balkan Fair Online, etc.
- Work on 12 projects with national and external funding, prioritising human resources, social dialogue, environmental protection, digitalisation and innovation;
- Newly admitted 9 branch organizations (collective members) and 13 companies (individual members);
- 3170 publications on BIA’s website, incl. 1064 information bulletins, 6479 publications in the media, incl. 263 appearances in national media
- We awarded the 25 000th student of the Cisco Academy at BIA;
- The Court of Arbitration at BIA updated its list of arbitrators and established a list of international arbitrators.
- At the insistence of the BIA, a legislative change was achieved, whereby the disqualification to perform the functions of a manager or a member of a management or control body for persons who have been in a management position in a commercial company terminated due to insolvency is limited to five years. Thus, the unfair, discriminatory texts that introduced presumption of guilt, collective liability and lifetime disqualification were removed from the Commercial Law.
- We have helped dozens of our members participate in parliamentary committee meetings.
Chairmanship of AOBE
In 2022 BIA held the rotating presidency of the Association of the Organizations of Bulgarian Employers (AOBE). In the difficult political and economic situation in 2022, thanks to the active role of the AOBR members, energy prices for non-domestic consumers were substantially limited. A high degree of diversification of gas supply was also achieved through successful public tenders.
Within the framework of the presidency of BIA were implemented:
- 19 official meetings, including with Prime Minister Galab Donev, Deputy Prime Minister Atanas Pekanov, Ministers of Economy, Industry and Innovation, Energy, Finance, Regional Development and Public Works, representatives of political parties GERB and Bulgarski vazhod, etc.
- 21 official letters and 38 positions on current topics concerning the business environment, including: supplies and prices of natural gas and electricity, the National Plan for Recovery and Sustainability, the admission of Bulgaria to the Eurozone, tolls, etc.
- 4 AOBE meetings and 3 press conferences.
Taxes and income
- We supported the preservation of the reduced VAT rate for baby food and diapers, and for restaurateurs and catering services;
- We assisted in increasing the annual quota for food vouchers to BGN 1 billion and increasing and then maintaining the monthly value of the voucher per employee at BGN 200.
- We assisted in introducing provisions in the VAT Act to reduce the tax base and the tax charged in the event of uncollectible receivables;
- We prevented the unjustified excessive increase of the minimum wage.
Bulgaria in the Eurozone
Adopted positions of the Economic and Social Council of the Republic of Bulgaria, developed with the assistance of the BIA and with the main rapporteur Stanislav Popdonchev, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of BIA, incl.: Opinion "National plan for the introduction of the euro in the Republic of Bulgaria" (May 2022) and Analysis "Impact of Bulgaria's accession to the Eurozone on economic development, inflation and incomes in the country" (June 2022).
Adopted position of the Management Board of BIA from 14.12.2022 with a proposal for a legislative disposition of the fiscal reserve and assets in the balance sheet of the BNB Issuance Management in excess of those required by the ECB through the creation of a sovereign investment fund - property of the Government (similar to the Norwegian experience), transfer of the funds to the so-called Silver Fund for investment according to separate, legally established rules, guaranteeing a sustainable macroeconomic perspective or early repayment of maturing government debt.
International economic relations
- We involved our members in the work of BusinessEurope and prepared together with them expert opinions on EU legislation;
- We participated in the work at the pan-European level of Sector Groups: Creative Industries, Digital Technologies, Circular Economy, Electronics; Working groups: Digitization, Startups, Internationalization and Access to financing;
- We increased the practical focus of the Innovation Strategy for Smart Specialization, the Program "Research, Innovation and Digitization for Smart Transformation", Concept and Law for the Promotion of Scientific Research and Innovation, measure BG-RRP-2.006 "Support for innovative SMEs awarded with the Seal for excellence”;
- We launched work in the new Enterprise Europe Network, where we help innovative companies grow and find partners;
- We developed pan-European policies, an action plan and financial models for sustainability in microelectronics under the ECoVEM project;
- We supported companies through the "Export Hub Bulgaria" initiative;
- We achieved 14 concluded deals between Bulgarian and foreign companies;
- We gave guidelines for the construction of strategies for our export markets - for each one separately, and for the work and accountability of the Commercial and Economic Offices abroad;
- We protected the interests of business in the National Plan for Recovery and Sustainability;
- We supported the food and beverage industry to reduce export fees on phytosanitary control;
- We provided 7 specific guidelines for the work of the Ministry of Innovation and Growth;
- We organized 7 online or in-person events on topics related to increasing business capacity for innovation, attracting financing, etc.;
- We co-organized in partnership with foreign organizations 12 b2b events during major international exhibitions and fairs;
- We made BIA a part of the European Digital Innovation Hubs (EDIH) network, where we will organize collective trainings to support the digitization of companies; "Test before invest", preparation for investment; Individual consulting and mentoring to find markets and investments;
- Within an international consortium, we won a project that for the first time based on the European Blockchain Services Infrastructure (EBSI) will facilitate SMEs and startups to take control of how their company credentials are managed and stored and how they are shared with financial institutions (public, PPP and private);
- We maintain a sub-site to the BIA website and Open Innovation Platform;
- We publish a monthly newsletter with a variety of business opportunities.
In the field of human resources
- We developed 10 educational competency models of curricula in two higher schools - Technical University - Sofia, and Trakia University - Stara Zagora, within the framework of the "Modernization of Higher Education" procedure, financed under OP "SESG";
- We have prepared 16 sectoral analyzes of the state and needs for the development of the digital skills of the workforce, as well as 87 profiles of key positions in 16 economic sectors with a description of the required digital knowledge, skills and competencies;
- We have developed methodological guidelines for maintaining and upgrading the digital skills of employees by sector to provide continuing education for better professional realization and increased professional training of employees by providing digital skills necessary for the exercise of their profession/job in 16 economic activities;
- Within the framework of the "Workforce Adaptation" project, financed under the National Employment Action Plan, we trained a total of 923 unemployed persons, incl. 540 – for key competencies, 483 – for acquiring a qualification in a part of a profession. 35% of the trained persons were provided with employment for a period of at least 3 months;
- Under the "Health and safety working confitions-2022" program, financed by the "Working Conditions" Fund, we held 45 seminars on health and safety at work throughout the country, and 1494 persons from BIA member companies were trained;
- Within the eDigiStars project (co-funded by the Danube Programme) we participated in the development of the POWERYOY, LABEL, CAMPUS tools, which aim to motivate people over 50 years of age to undergo training for new digital skills in courses adapted to their age and to get certified, thus obtaining new qualifications and becoming successfully integrated on the labour market;
- We conducted trainings at the Cisco Academy - courses for network specialists CCNA, DevNet Associate.
Environment
- We expanded BIA's initiative for an accelerated transition to a circular economy "CRIC - Circular Economy" by creating "PLASTIC PACT Bulgaria" - the first in the Balkans common platform of enterprises working with plastics (producers, consumers, recovery organizations, retail chains);
- BIA experts participated in the development of a document defining the scope of a study on the introduction of a deposit system for packaging in Bulgaria;
- We organized two meetings with the Ministry of Environment and Water:
o With representatives of branch organizations (UMT, UBB, BSDA, BRRA) in connection with the work of the WG for the introduction of a deposit system;
o With representatives of the tobacco industry (Philip Morris Bulgaria, Japan Tobacco International Bulgaria, British American Tobacco, BATI) in connection with the implementation of the Ordinance on reducing the impact of certain plastic products on the environment.
- In August 2022, the implementation of the OPGG project "Evaluation of the effectiveness of the implementation of the legislation on the management of waste from certain single-use plastic products (SUPP)" began, jointly with the Chamber of Chemical Industry;
- Within the framework of the B-Rural project, a virtual shop for bio-based products was launched and seminars were held with more than 100 participants to popularize the principles and content of the bioeconomy;
- A training module on waste management was developed for the professions of cooks and waiters and a manual for working with the methodology of the "HoReCa: Zero Waste" project;
- Together with Regional Industrial Association - Razgrad, a discussion was organized with over 40 representatives of the municipalities and regional waste management systems from North-Eastern Bulgaria on the topic "Circular Economy in Municipalities and Utilization of Household Waste";
- Training materials on good practices in municipal waste management were prepared and presented to local administration officials and the public in the municipalities of Satovcha, Simitli, Dolna Mitropolia, Berkovitsa, Sungurlare, Byala and Kirkovo;
- We assisted “Club Economy 2000” in holding seminars on "Circular Economy - Challenges and Opportunities" in several regions of the country;
- We conducted training for 28 representatives of Kozloduy NPP on the topic "Legislation for the management of chemicals (REACH regulation and other legal acts), as part of the environmental management system".
- We cooperated and provided information to the members of BIA for using the National Information System for waste, speeding up the issuance of notifications, applying the requirements of the Packaging and Packaging Waste Ordinance and Ordinance to Reduce the Impact of Certain Plastic Products on the Environment.
That was the past year for BIA. In 2023, we will again spare no energy in supporting our members!
