site.btaPM Radev Meets with Employers' Organizations Representatives

The competitiveness of the Bulgarian economy is key to the country's sustainable development, and the Bulgarian government is open to dialogue with employers' organizations in search of effective solutions, Prime Minister Rumen Radev said during a meeting at the Council of Ministers on Tuesday with representatives of the Confederation of Employers and Industrialists in Bulgaria (KRIB), the Bulgarian Industrial Association (BIA) and the Bulgarian Federation of Industrial Energy Consumers (BFIEC). Energy Minister Iva Petrova also attended the meeting, the government press service said.

During the talks, business representatives voiced support for the government's reform efforts and highlighted the challenges facing Bulgaria's energy-intensive industries, as well as possible ways to address them at both national and European level. Employers' organizations noted that 80% of the country's energy-intensive companies are export-oriented and called for improvements to measures aimed at safeguarding their competitiveness.

The participants discussed opportunities to attract additional funding through European programmes, as well as ways to make more effective use of resources from the Electricity System Security Fund, so that compensation schemes related to energy prices do not place additional pressure on the national budget.

Radev outlined Bulgaria's position on the next EU Multiannual Financial Framework, noting that achieving "industrial convergence" is among the country's priorities. He stressed that Bulgaria will advocate for funds under the new Competitiveness Fund to reach less developed EU member states as well, in order to prevent widening industrial and technological gaps across Europe.

"With our European partners, we discussed the fair distribution of funds that would lead to genuine convergence in industry, innovation and digitalization," Radev said.