The Association of the Organisations of Bulgarian Employers (AOBE) presented its priorities for 2025. The press conference was attended by the heads of the AOBE member employers' organizations: Vasil Velev - President of the Bulgarian Industrial Capital Association (BICA) and rotating chairman of the AOBE for 2025, Dobri Mitrev - President of the Bulgarian Industrial Association (BIA), Tsvetan Simeonov - President of the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI), and Konstantin Stamenov - Member of the Board of the Confederation of Employers and Industrialists in Bulgaria (KRIB).
"This year we have expanded the national priorities that we pull out in front of the brackets each year. Until recently, macroeconomic, financial and fiscal stability were taken for granted and were not in our national priorities, but in recent years they have wavered. It is good that the formed government in its management agreement also has such a priority", said Vasil Velev – President of BICA. "There has been a realisation in recent months regarding the Green Deal, but to get tangible results we have put re-calibrating the Green Deal to promote a competitive industry as a priority ahead of the staples. It is a very positive signal that among the first bills that have been introduced in parliament, and by four different parliamentary groups, there is one on deferring non-financial reporting," Velev added. Among the other national priorities Vasil Velev pointed to the continuation of active actions for Bulgaria's accession to the Eurozone and the OECD, as well as a significant increase in investment in education as a key factor for the country's future development.
The President of BIA Dobri Mitrev presented the priorities of AOBE in terms of business environment and economic development. "Unfortunately, there is no big change in our priorities compared to those of the previous year. The first and the main topic, which we insist on very much, is preserving the tax model in Bulgaria and reducing the share of GDP in the allocation of budget funds. The tax model in Bulgaria is one of the small competitive advantages that our country has among its EU partners. Tax collection is extremely high, we have an over-performance of the state budget revenues. We also insist on a sharp reduction in the administrative burden, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises. In recent years, the EU has become a generator of excessive bureaucracy and regulations in relation to business, and we in Bulgaria have added extra value to this bureaucracy and created over 900 regulatory regimes. This not only makes it difficult for companies, but even stops them from operating", said Dobri Mitrev. In his words, the AOBE expects in 2025 to maintain the existing tax model, to take real action to build e-government, to introduce key performance indicators for the state administration, to move to real programme budgeting, to reduce bureaucracy and opportunities for corruption, to apply the cost-coverage principle in setting state fees, to reduce the number of regulatory regimes on a "1-in-2-out" basis (when introducing new regulations or requirements for business, two existing ones should be removed). Among the priorities of the AOBE is to change the regionalisation of Bulgaria at NUTS 2 level on the basis of a consensus national position, with the Sofia-City region to be designated as a separate planning region.
The Chairman of the Energy Committee of KRIB Konstantin Stamenov presented the priorities of the AOBE in the field of energy and green transition. "Since the beginning of this year Bulgaria continues to have one of the highest electricity prices in Europe. Today the price is BGN 461 per megawatt-hour, reaching BGN 1200 in the evening hours. At such prices Bulgarian companies, especially energy intensive companies, cannot function. This is the reason why we insist that the compensation mechanism for high electricity prices be guaranteed for as long as there is a need. In the last two years, this compensation mechanism has saved many economic operators and enabled companies to have cost predictability. The other extremely important priority that we are pushing for is the creation of a mechanism and procedures for signing long-term contracts for energy-intensive companies. In Italy, such a mechanism has been created and companies there purchase electricity at prices of 60 euros per megawatt-hour, and these 3-year contracts are against a commitment to invest in renewable sources and to return this electricity in the coming years," Stamenov said.
"The first and most important priority in the field of education and the labour market for AOBE is to orient secondary and higher education to the needs of the labour market. For years there has been a formal inquiry to the representative organizations of business about their needs, but the proposals that are given are not always accepted, and the shortcomings of the Bulgarian education system is in the long-term measures. A second very important measure for us is the further easing, speeding up and cheapening of the procedures for importing workers from third countries to Bulgaria and measures to promote their sustainable employment in Bulgaria," said Tsvetan Simeonov, President of BCCI, presenting the priorities of the AOBE in the field of education and the labour market.
The priorities of AOBE in the field of social policy, European policies and investments were presented by the President of BICA Vasil Velev. "A specific priority is the repeal of Article 244 of the Labour Code, which regulates the way the minimum wage is set. In our opinion, it contradicts international law, it takes into account only one indicator instead of at least four, as the Directive dictates and, on top of that, it takes it into account wrongly. The error in calculating the gross average wage is 26%, i.e., the minimum wage should be 26% lower. We are not asking for that; we are asking for international law to be applied properly. This system, which is currently in place, leads to demotivation of workers and specialists to improve their qualifications, an increase in the informal sector and a flight of investors, and consequently - a slowdown in economic growth and living standards," said Vasil Velev.
The members of the AOBE expressed their readiness to work together with the state institutions, business and civil society for the implementation of these priorities, stating their commitment to the long-term sustainable development of the country.
The Association of Organisations of Bulgarian Employers represents 82% of all employees in Bulgaria and the gross value added they produce is 86%. In 2024 AOBE has prepared 55 positions, mainly focused on measures to support business in the economic and energy crisis.
