site.btaDeputy Foreign Minister: Timely Reforms Are Key to Bulgaria’s OECD Entry in 2026

Deputy Foreign Minister Maria Anguelieva told the National Assembly’s Committee on Foreign Policy on Thursday that thirteen of the twenty-five reviews for Bulgaria’s accession to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) had been completed.

The Foreign Ministry’s report underlined that all recommendations must be followed, especially those calling for changes to existing legislation. Draft amendments submitted by the Council of Ministers—covering the Whistleblowing Act, the Private Security Activity Act, the Public Offering of Securities Act, the Insurance Code and several other statutes—must pass by the end of October 2025 to avoid delays and allow the technical stage to finish this year, Anguelieva said.

She explained that adopting the bills on time would let the technical stage conclude by late 2025 or early 2026. If member states maintain consensus, Bulgaria could then receive an invitation to join OECD the following year.

Bulgaria is advancing in parallel with Croatia and Romania, remaining at roughly the same stage, and aims to join together, Anguelieva added.

She also listed key political-level events: the OECD annual ministerial meeting in Paris on June 3, 2025 and June 4, 2025, which Bulgaria’s foreign affairs and economy and industry ministers will attend; a working visit to Sofia by an OECD Secretariat delegation on July 11, 2025 and July 12, 2025; and a visit by OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann in February 2026, when the organization’s economic review of Bulgaria is due and completion of the technical phase could be announced.