site.btaPrime Minister Identifies Demography and Education as Key Challenges

Prime Minister Identifies Demography and Education as Key Challenges
Prime Minister Identifies Demography and Education as Key Challenges
Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov speaks in Parliament, Sofia, October 3, 2025. (BTA Photo/Minko Chernev)

Demography and education are two of the most serious challenges facing modern society, Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov said during parliamentary question time on Friday in response to a query about the demographic crisis.

Zhelyazkov said that demographic policies cannot be confined to the scope of a single government or mandate. Many of the challenges are related to natural migration within the opportunities provided by the single market. He noted that large numbers of Bulgarian citizens have taken advantage of free movement in the European Union, which has directly affected the demographic picture. Still, governments must address key trends by working to raise the fertility rate and to reverse the tendency for outward migration within the EU, he added.

Zhelyazkov pointed out that Bulgaria’s GDP per capita and incomes have increased significantly compared with the EU average, from 40% at the time of accession to about 75% currently, directly influencing re-migration processes.

As a positive example, Zhelyazkov referred to a pilot project of the Labour and Social Policy Ministry aimed at testing whether incentives through the social system and support measures can foster re-migration. Labour migration from third countries, however, is a separate issue, he said, as it is not part of re-migration or fertility policies but rather a response to requests from Bulgarian business and industry, particularly in the services sector.

The goal is for third-country nationals to work in Bulgaria temporarily and then return to their countries of origin, Zhelyazkov stressed. This process, he added, is carefully coordinated with employers and trade unions to both protect the domestic labour market and meet the demand for workers in sectors facing labour shortages.

/VE/

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By 13:30 on 04.10.2025 Today`s news

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