The Association of the Organizations of Bulgarian Employers presented its priorities for 2024

At a press conference on 17 January 2024, the Association of the Organizations of Bulgarian Employers (AOBE) presented its priorities for 2024. The press conference was attended by the heads of the employers' organizations - members of the AOBE: Vasil Velev - President of the Bulgarian Industrial Capital Association (BICA), Dobri Mitrev - President of the Bulgarian Industrial Association (BIA) and rotating chairman of AOBE for 2022, Tsvetan Simeonov - President of the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI), and Kiril Domuschiev - President of the Confederation of Employers and Industrialists in Bulgaria (CEIBG).

Consecutively, the employers' organizations outlined AOBE’s national priorities for this year: Bulgaria’s  full-fledged Schengen 2024 and Eurozone 2025 memberships, as well as the 2026 accession to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

Speaking of the priorities of AOBE in the field o business environment and the development of economics, the President of the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Tsvetan Simeonov pointed out: "BCCI’s most notable achievements in 2023 as a rotating chairman of the AOBЕ were the prices of electricity, the compensations for non-residential consumers, the natural gas prices, etc. Partial progress was accomplished by reducing to two the three days of sick leave attributed to employers under Bulgarian legislation.  AOBE's priorities did not change significantly because many of our considerations were not listened to. Firstly, the administrative burden, heavy for all and especially for the small and medium-sized enterprises, is still to be significantly reduced. We would like to preserve the current tax model, as it is favorable regarding Bulgarian enterprises’ expenditures and foreign investors. The 'polluter pays' principle in municipal waste taxing is still pending."