At a press conference held today, 5 February 2026, the Association of the Organization of Bulgarian Employers (AOBE) presented its priorities for 2026. The event was attended by the heads of the employer organizations that are members of AOBE: Rumen Radev, Chairman of the Bulgarian Industrial Capital Association (BICA); Dobri Mitrev, President of the Bulgarian Industrial Association (BIA) and rotating Chairman of AOBE for 2026; Tsvetan Simeonov, Chairman of the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI); and Kiril Domuschiev, Chairman of the Confederation of Employers and Industrialists in Bulgaria (CEIBG).
National Priorities
“Unfortunately, political instability does not allow these priorities to be implemented at the pace we would like, so that we can have a prosperous industry and wealthier Bulgarian citizens. Our most important national priority is macroeconomic and fiscal stability,” said Dobri Mitrev, President of BIA, while presenting the national priorities around which AOBE members are united.
According to him, Bulgaria must adhere to fiscal rules and the criteria for joining the euro area. “We have a good tax and social security model. Attempts to change it (in the draft 2026 budget) through tax and social contribution increases led people to protest in the streets, and we all know what followed. Our priority to preserve and guarantee the market economy stems from inadequate legislative decisions we have witnessed over the past year. Recently, a bill was introduced proposing amendments to the Waste Management Act to establish a state operator for the deposit return system, which is needed not only by industry but by all citizens.”
“We support the recalibration of the so-called Green Deal – ‘yes’ to decarbonisation and carbon emission reductions, but not at the expense of enterprises. This process must be gradual and proportionate to companies’ capacities and must not distort the market,” Mitrev added.
Completing Bulgaria’s accession process to the OECD and removing the country from the so-called grey list for money laundering are two other key national priorities for AOBR. Mitrev stressed that Bulgaria is the only EU member state on this list, which seriously affects both the country’s image and international banking transactions. “Urgently removing Bulgaria from the grey list will contribute to increased investment interest,” he underlined.
Another major priority is the quality of education. “We cannot have a prosperous society without quality, accessible education focused not only on knowledge, but also on skills and competencies that reflect the needs of the Bulgarian labour market and the global challenges we face – artificial intelligence, new technologies, automation, and more,” said the rotating Chairman of AOBE for 2026.
Business Environment and Economic Development
“The most significant development last year was the completion of Bulgaria’s full European integration,” said Rumen Radev, Chairman of BICA, presenting AOBE’s priorities regarding the business environment and economic development.
“Our focus is on preserving the tax and social security model and the overall tax burden, as well as reducing the share of GDP redistributed through the state budget. Over the past decade, we have seen a sustained increase in both tax and social security revenues as a share of GDP and in budgetary redistribution. That is why we reacted so strongly to the initial draft of the 2026 state budget.”
Reducing administrative burdens is also crucial, as are targeted measures for small and medium-sized enterprises. Radev stressed the need to actively promote investment in manufacturing and extractive industries, noting that production underpins all public redistribution.
Among AOBE’s priorities is also the introduction of genuine programme-based budgeting. “Financial resources must be directed toward specific programmes with clear interim and final objectives, performance monitoring, and accountability. This would significantly improve public sector efficiency. Automatic mechanisms for determining public sector wages must be abolished. Income policies should be individualized through proper goal-setting and performance measurement,” Radev stated.
Additional key points include:
Applying the “polluter pays” principle in municipal waste fees;
Ensuring that for every new regulation, at least two ineffective or duplicative ones are abolished;
Combating the grey economy, corruption, and cartelisation through proper enforcement of existing laws;
Encouraging investment in infrastructure, including rail and maritime transport, through public-private partnerships and concessions;
Implementing corporate governance principles not only in publicly traded companies, but also in all state- and municipally owned enterprises.
Energy and Green Transition
Kiril Domuschiev, Chairman of CEIBG, presented AOBE’s priorities in the field of energy and the green transition, emphasizing that Bulgaria has one of the highest electricity prices in Europe, resulting in lost competitiveness.
He noted that higher electricity prices lead to higher production costs, inflation, and loss of markets, with energy-intensive industries particularly affected. Domuschiev provided comparative data showing that Bulgaria’s electricity prices are significantly higher than those in Germany, France, Spain, and Nordic countries.
He stressed the importance of continuing compensation mechanisms for high electricity prices, particularly for energy-intensive industries, which account for 25% of Bulgaria’s GDP, and called for faster notification procedures with the European Commission.
Long-term electricity contracts for energy-intensive enterprises were highlighted as essential for competitiveness. Domuschiev also emphasized the need for transparency in new energy generation projects, improved efficiency of state-owned energy enterprises, full liberalisation of the electricity market, and broader deployment of energy storage systems and renewable energy sources.
Education and Labour Market
Tsvetan Simeonov, Chairman of BCCI, presented AOBE’s priorities in education and the labour market, including:
Expanding dual education;
Improving digital skills;
Aligning adult learning systems with labour market needs through individual learning accounts and micro-credentials;
Increasing financial literacy.
He stressed that education must be better aligned with business needs and that quality indicators must be introduced. Simeonov also highlighted the need for a new mechanism for determining the minimum wage, improved procedures for importing labour, and simplification of administrative processes to reduce corruption.
Social Policy and Healthcare
The priorities in social policy and healthcare were presented by Dobri Mitrev, President of BIA. He welcomed the parliamentary consensus allowing pension funds to invest more freely, noting the potential for higher returns for insured individuals.
Mitrev stressed the need to restore the link between social security contributions and benefits, finalize the promised pension system roadmap, and ensure fairness and sustainability across all pension pillars.
Other priorities include improving the effectiveness of social assistance through income and asset-based criteria, addressing abuses in disability pensions, expanding childcare infrastructure to support working parents and demographic balance, and focusing healthcare reform on prevention and early screening.
Despite significant public and private spending, Mitrev noted, healthcare outcomes have not improved proportionately, underscoring the urgent need for systemic reform.
