Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce

Bulgarian and Macedonian companies want to do more business together and make new investments in each other's markets since the two countries signed a friendship treaty in August 2017, business organizations say.

The social partners are launching joint actions on electricity prices. Today, 15 January 2018, a workshop was held between the heads of nationally representative organizations and employees and employers united in the "4 + 2" format.

Unemployment in Bulgaria marked a record low, while at the same time economists report high employment for 2017.

Every second Bulgarian in working age worked in 2017. More than 3 million and 225 thousand people were employed in the third quarter of the year.

Economists say the reason is the growth of the economy by nearly 4%.

About 64% of employers plan to offer Christmas bonuses to their employees, 21% will not provide such bonuses, and 15% have not yet decided. This shows a poll conducted among members of the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI).

The consultation was carried out between 22-29 November 2017.

The High Administrative Court today annulled the government's decree that set minimum wage at BGN 460 for 2017, the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) said.

Widespread corruption in the administration restricts the options of Bulgarian companies. A total of 46% have received a demand for a bribe by bureaucrats, showed a survey of the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) presented by the chairman of the employers' organisation Tsvetan Simeonov.

According to Simeonov, merely 48% of companies have not been asked for a bribe.

Businessmen and representatives of the government will gather on Monday to outline five steps for stable economy at this year's first national discussion from the "Yes! To Bulgarian economy" campaign.

This is the eighth consecutive national discussion organised by daily Standart and the Confederation of Employers and Industrialists in Bulgaria (KRIB).

Bulgaria's President Rosen Plevneliev and his Albanian counterpart Bujar Nishani, who arrives in Sofia Tuesday, will discuss cooperation in the spheres of trade, economy and culture, the EU integration of the countries of the Western Balkans, and the increased migratory pressure on Europe.

Nishani arrives in Bulgaria at the invitation of Plevneliev.

The heads of four employers' associations submitted tip-offs with the prosecuting authority for three types of irregularities in the energy sector.

Bulgarian employers' organizations are calling in a new protest to vent their anger at a hike in power prices for industrial consumers.

They will also insist on the resignation of Ivan Ivanov, the head of Bulgaria's energy regulator.