"If investors come to Bulgaria for cheap labour, they better leave"

The basic philosophy that I explain to foreign delegations that come to Bulgaria is that if they have come to Bulgaria for cheap labour, they would be better off going home. We cannot build a rich economy and a rich country with cheap labour".

So said Finance Minister Assen Vassilev at the Powers Summit forum in Sofia.

He and Prime Minister Acad. Nikolay Denkov presented to MPs, experts and the media their views on how the Bulgarian economy should develop.

Vassilev reiterated his goal that business in Bulgaria should pay high wages.

Think about how your employees can afford a salary of 2 000 euro and organise your process in such a way, and the state will help you with support for your capital investments," the Finance Minister told the business community.

He said that the difference between productivity in Bulgaria and abroad was due to the different machinery used and the way companies organised their work processes.

And that is entirely in the hands of business. The same worker with the same qualities can produce two or three times more added value in Germany, for example. This is precisely because of the capital - from the machines that are used to the infrastructure, the connections to the market, etc.," the Finance Minister said.

He added that Bulgaria offers maximum support for capital investment to both Bulgarian and foreign investors.

For his part, Prime Minister Denkov said that progress on each of the government's priorities was "extremely good". In his speech, he thanked the National Assembly for its work on the government's programme. In his words, the main priority in 2025 and 2026 will be to improve the quality of life and solve demographic problems.

Our task after 2024 will be to make Bulgaria one of the best places to live," the Prime Minister said.

The two leaders reaffirmed Bulgaria's course towards the eurozone and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), with the current intention to join both by early 2025. No deadline was set for Schengen membership. The latest is December this year, but several countries - Austria and the Netherlands - have already given clear signals that they will not accept Bulgaria.

This article was translated with the support of DeepL.