site.btaParliament Chair Nazaryan: Bulgaria Aims to Complete OECD Accession in 2026

National Assembly Chair Raya Nazaryan said Thursday Bulgaria continues work on meeting Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) recommendations and aims to complete its accession process in 2026, the National Assembly Press Service said.

Nazaryan spoke at a meeting with OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann during his official visit to Bulgaria to present the OECD Economic Survey of Bulgaria 2025.

Nazaryan said joining the OECD was one of Bulgaria’s main foreign-policy priorities and that all competent Bulgarian institutions were involved. It was a cross-party national priority reflected in political parties’ programmes, she added.

Nazaryan thanked Cormann for his support and personal engagement with the accession process and noted the excellent co-operation with the OECD Secretariat. Bulgaria would rely on that support to complete the accession process successfully, regardless of domestic political dynamics, the National Assembly press office said.

Nazaryan said Bulgaria’s OECD accession process was an opportunity to strengthen democratic institutions and modernize governance. She highlighted the National Assembly’s key role, including expediting draft legislation related to implementing OECD recommendations.

Over the past 18 months alone, the National Assembly had passed 11 such bills amending existing legislation, most recently in January this year, she added. The significance of Bulgaria’s OECD accession was also underscored by the establishment in May last year of a Subcommittee to Support Bulgaria’s OECD Accession Process, comprising MPs from all parliamentary parties.

Nazaryan said Bulgarian institutions remained firmly committed to safeguarding macroeconomic stability and fiscal discipline. She added that Bulgaria was addressing and making headway on many of the challenges highlighted in the Economic Survey’s recommendations, including strengthening competitiveness, investing in innovation and human capital, advancing the energy and digital transitions, improving transparency, and combating corruption. These efforts demonstrated that Bulgaria was pursuing the right strategic direction, and that the OECD had recognized this, she said.

Cormann said there had been strong political support over the past four years for Bulgaria’s OECD accession and that tangible progress was visible over the last 12 months. He said the government wanted to keep working actively and that he expected positive opinions to wrap up accession reviews in the remaining seven committees. Cormann said the OECD relies on the National Assembly’s continued support and expressed hope for the swiftest possible progress, noting that it was encouraging that political forces backed the objective. He added that the OECD remains committed to advancing Bulgaria’s accession and aims to complete the process in 2026.

At an event in the Granite Hall at the Council of Ministers earlier on Thursday, where Cormann presented OECD's economic report on Bulgaria and reviewed the country’s progress towards membership, he said OECD accession should be transformative. He described it as a "transformative journey" that would lay the foundations for stronger growth, job creation, higher incomes, and improved living standards.