At a press conference today, 26 January 2022, the Association of the Organizations of Bulgarian Employers (AOBE) presented its priorities for 2022. The press conference was attended by the heads of the employers' organizations in AOBE: Vasil Velev - Chairman of the Governing Board of the Bulgarian Industrial Capital Association (BICA), Dobri Mitrev - President of the Bulgarian Industrial Association (BIA) and rotating chairman of AOBE for 2022, Tsvetan Simeonov - President of the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI), and Kiril Domuschiev - Chairman of the Confederation of Employers and Industrialists in Bulgaria (KRIB).
"More than five years ago, some analysts noted that after Bulgaria's accession to the EU, our country has no unifying national goal for us. At that time, AOBR raised Bulgaria's membership in the OECD for this purpose, and this priority has been important to us ever since. We have managed to put this goal on the agenda of both the government and the presidency. A Bulgarian plan to achieve it was drawn up. This is not an end in itself, but OECD membership means achieved standards for the rule of law, for functioning institutions and regulators, competition, antitrust law, a small gray sector, low corruption, macroeconomic and financial stability, etc. Everything that improves the investment climate and rating of the country attracts investment, creates conditions for accelerated economic growth and a higher standard of living. We are happy that with a decision from yesterday the OECD negotiations for admission of our country to this prestigious club of countries has begun", said the Chairman of BICA Vasil Velev, presenting the national priorities around which the members of AOBE are united. Another priority of the Association is the accelerated accession of the country to the Eurozone without delay.
The President of BIA Dobri Mitrev presented the priorities of AOBE in terms of business environment and economic development. "It is necessary to provide sufficient incentives for each entrepreneur to invest in the so-called “green transition”. Direct support for investment in the digital and green economy will help achieve the decarbonisation targets. This support should find a place in the National Recovery and Sustainability Plan and in the new programming period under the operational programs. According to the NRSP, we are concerned that the direct support for Bulgarian entrepreneurs has been cut and priority has been given to financial instruments," said Dobri Mitrev. AOBE expects in 2022 real actions to build e-government, introduction of key indicators for efficiency of public administration, transition to real program budgeting, reduction of bureaucracy and opportunities for corruption, application of the cost-covering principle in determining state fees, maintaining the existing tax model, reducing the number of 1-in-2-out regulatory regimes (introducing new regulations or requiring businesses to remove/eliminate two existing ones) and combating the informal economy, corruption, monopolisation and cartelization.
The Chairman of KRIB Kiril Domuschiev presented AOBE's priorities in the field of energy and the "green transition". "First of all, it is important to correct all the distortions we see in the electricity market. It is very important in the current crisis what will be the approach in our country in order to compensate consumers on the free market, including adoption of procedures and mechanism for concluding long-term contracts for the energy-intensive industry. We are significantly behind in working on these issues. We should be grateful for the compensations that are provided for the industry, but they are significantly delayed and insufficient," said Kiril Domuschiev. He stressed that the EC handbook from October last year enables each country to be flexible in its policies and measures to support those affected by the energy price crisis. As an example, Kiril Domuschiev pointed out France, Spain, Greece, Romania and other European countries, where effective measures are applied for access to additional quotas of cheap electricity for business (at prices from 40 to 60 euros per megawatt hour). "Many companies have started to close or reduce their capacity due to high electricity prices. We are grateful for the help, but this is not money from the power plants or the budget - this money was taken from us and now generates billions of levs of extra profits. This is the money that is taken from Bulgarian companies and we want some of it to return to the economy," said Kiril Domuschiev. Other priorities of AOBE in the energy field are: Intensification of the operational work of the Advisory Board on the European Green Deal with a view to achieving a structured approach in the formation of national policies on the so-called green transition; Update of the National Strategy for Sustainable Energy Development of the Republic of Bulgaria until 2030 with a horizon until 2050, of the Integrated Plan in the field of energy and climate of the Republic of Bulgaria 2021-2030 with a horizon until 2050; Elaboration and systematic implementation of a Roadmap for the transition to climate neutrality and development of the energy sector in the Republic of Bulgaria with subsequent monitoring, control and corrective measures; Increasing the capacity and activity of the EWRC to investigate and sanction market abuse and market concentration; Encouraging the production and storage of electricity from renewable energy sources for own consumption - both by facilitating the procedures and by adequate financial incentives and instruments; Construction of new production facilities in the field of electricity generation only on a market basis; Improving the efficiency of state-owned enterprises in the energy sector; Preparation for full liberalization of the electricity market and protection of the energy vulnerable.
"There is a systematic shortage of skilled workers in the labor market (not only in Bulgaria). The adult education system in Bulgaria does not work as it does in the EU. In the EU, the percentage of those who study at an older age is 9.2, and in Bulgaria we are still at the level of 1.6%. We want to continue our efforts to link education to the needs of the labor market - a lot has been done, but we are still far away. A very important element for Bulgaria is the attraction of highly qualified specialists from abroad. In the period from 2012 to 2020, 1040 such specialists were attracted to Bulgaria - this is ridiculous. All forecasts indicate that unemployment will continue to decline and labor shortages will increase," said Tsvetan Simeonov, Chairman of the BCCI, presenting the priorities of the AOBE in the field of education and the labor market. Among them are: Improving the opportunities for attracting foreign students and providing opportunities for foreign citizens who have acquired their higher education in Bulgaria to gain access to the labor market in Bulgaria; Improving the digital skills of the workforce; Program for inclusion of the persons permanently isolated from the educational process and/or the labor market through compulsory education through work, etc., incl. coercive measures as well as incentives; Creating conditions for active participation in the labor market of working mothers by providing affordable services for raising children (construction of nurseries, kindergartens, including through public-private partnership).
AOBE's priorities in the field of social policy, European policies and investments were presented by the chairman of BICA Vasil Velev. "This year we intend to be more active in this area, not to give it to politicians and unions, because their populism leads us not to the temple, but in the opposite direction. We must not help the healthy, the strong, but lazy and illiterate to continue to live this way, the fraudsters who drain public funds. We must help the vulnerable, the sick, the disabled. At the moment, we do not distinguish between the two categories of people. Furthermore, we do not distinguish between 'social security' and 'social assistance'. We have raised the minimum pension from populism to the median level and more than half of the pensioners will receive the same pension regardless of their insurance contribution. In the same way, the minimum wage is perceived as social assistance. The minimum wage is a salary and it must be worked out," said Vasil Velev. Among the priorities of AOBE in the social sphere are: Finalization of the negotiations on the development and adoption of a transparent mechanism for strengthening the contractual principle in determining the minimum wage for the country, in accordance with ILO Convention № 131; Development of the pension model, stimulating the workers to insure themselves on their real incomes, and integration of the vulnerable social groups in the labor market. Support and development of private pension funds and raising public awareness of the capital pillar of pension insurance; Improving the adequacy of the support provided under the social assistance system and linking it, where possible, to participation in programs for basic literacy, education, training, employment, etc.; Revision of the state policy related to the State Fund for Guaranteeing the Sustainability of the State Pension System (SFGDPS) with regard to the stability of the pension system in order for the SFGUDPS to be a real buffer; Improving the coordination procedure with the social partners on key files for business, subject to discussion by the EU Council of Ministers; Establishment of an Advisory Board for monitoring the implementation of the National Recovery and Sustainability Plan.
