29.11.2022
THE INTEGRATED TERRITORIAL DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES OF THE SIX PLANNING REGIONS HAVE BEEN ADOPTED
The Council of Ministers approved the integrated territorial development strategies of the six Level 2 planning regions - North-West, North-Central, North-East, South-East, South-West and South-Central, for the period 2021 - 2027. They take into account the forecasts and investment intentions for development for the respective region and are the basis for the development of regional state aid schemes.
Integrated territorial strategies will be fundamental in the implementation of the new integrated territorial approach. They analyze the economic, social and ecological condition, needs and development potential of the respective region for level 2 planning. They also contain forecasts for development, vision, goals and priorities for regional and spatial development of the region.
For example, the vision for the North West region includes overcoming socio-economic backwardness and demographic problems through appropriate investments in connecting infrastructure and strengthening growth potential. The North-Eastern region will establish itself as a Bulgarian territory open to the Black Sea and the Holy, with a rich history, developed infrastructure and tourist image. The vision for the North Central region is for a rapidly and sustainably developing European region, and for the Southeast - an attractive place for life and business, using its potential for balanced socio-economic development. South-western region will strive to develop its potentials for a worthy place among European regions. The South Central region will establish itself as an attractive place for living, business and tourism, with better conditions for communication and preserved natural and cultural heritage.
The adoption of the six integrated territorial strategies will help the successful implementation of the state policy for regional development, taking into account the local specifics and potential and overcoming inter-regional and intra-regional differences. The strategic priorities in the documents correspond to the problems and needs of each individual region. Whether the set goals have been met and to what extent will be evaluated according to the changes related to the reduction of interregional and intraregional differences in economic, social, infrastructural development and environmental protection. The strategies will improve the effectiveness of the resources provided for regional development under the programs co-financed by the European Union, as well as from other financial sources.
28.11.2022
EU COUNTRIES HAVE APPROVED THREE SOCIAL GOALS UNTIL 2030
During the first European Forum on Employment and Social Rights held on 17 November, the European Union marked the fifth anniversary of the European Pillar of Social Rights by taking stock of the progress made.
The European Pillar of Social Rights represents 20 principles related to equal rights and access to the labor market, fair working conditions and social protection and inclusion.
Over the past 5 years, the Commission has presented over 130 initiatives to implement the pillar in the Member States and to build a social Europe that is fair, inclusive and full of opportunities.
These initiatives are in a variety of areas - pay transparency and equality between men and women, minimum wage and investment in skills, combating child poverty, minimum income, protecting the safety and health of workers.
During the Forum on Employment and Social Rights, the European Union countries endorsed the European Union's social goals for 2030, included in the Pillar Action Plan, and presented their national contribution to achieving these goals.
The three targets at European Union level to be achieved by 2030 are: at least 78% of people aged between 20 and 64 should be in work, each year at least 60% of all adults follow to participate in training. Also, the number of people at risk of poverty or social exclusion should decrease by at least 15 million people, including at least 5 million children, compared to 2019.
25.11.2022
ECONOMISTS: THE MELTING POPULATION LIMITS THE GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES OF THE REGIONS
The regional profiles clearly show that while the footprint of the pandemic and subsequent economic recovery is visible on the regional map, previously large disparities between districts persist. Due to continued political instability and economic challenges at the end of 2022, the development and unlocking of the regions' potential will be of great importance. This is stated in the analysis of the Institute for Market Economy, which has been preparing profiles of the regions in Bulgaria since 2012.
The new edition of "Regional Profiles: Development Indicators" for another year reveals the economic potential and deep social differences between regions in Bulgaria. The publication covers a period in which the economy recovered from the severe impact of the pandemic, but quickly encountered new challenges, topped with a severe political crisis, the authors of the report wrote.
The population census highlighted more clearly than ever the severe demographic problems facing the country, which also limit the potential for growth in places.
It is indicated that local authorities should be extremely active and work towards the transformation of their economy through more productivity and competitiveness - attracting investments and developing industrial areas, working with educational institutions and supporting investments in human capital, openness to regional partnerships and thinking beyond the usual administrative boundaries. In these efforts, however, the municipalities need support and, above all, real steps for financial decentralization and more own resources, the analysis states.
Economists report that almost every region is distinguished by successful performance in a certain area - it is good, for example, education in Smolyan, health care in Pleven, investment activity in Sofia region, and in a number of regions there is potential for improving the overall development. Its deployment in a tangible and permanent improvement of people's lives and the business environment depends both on the processes in the large economic centers and their periphery, and on the development of the secondary economic centers, which are still lagging behind, the economists add.
In the latest edition, the regions of Stara Zagora, Veliko Tarnovo and Ruse are joined by the regions of Sofia (the capital), Plovdiv, Varna, Burgas and Gabrovo, which are performing well overall, and have passed relatively well through the difficulties of the pandemic, experts report.
The biggest challenge for all is the demographic picture. The latest census last year highlighted the dire demographic problems facing the whole country, with figures on the working age population showing that 20 out of 28 districts had lost at least a fifth of their workforce.
"And while the collapse of natural growth reflects long-term processes and slowing it down requires vision and time, mechanical growth can be affected by short-term policies," the report states.
The lack of adaptation to the declining population, although this has been evident for years, continues to have a direct impact on the provision of public services (education, health, public order, culture, etc.) and the ability of the private sector to hire labor.
Economists warn that the problems facing local authorities arising from demographic trends will further deepen, requiring higher costs, the need for optimization and accounting for new realities. In order for such adjustment to be possible, more own resources and freedom in conducting regional and municipal policy are needed, according to economists.
The regions in the country have a different economic profile, which predetermines their different development trajectories. Among the areas with good indicators are mostly those with developed industry and strong penetration of digital services.
Despite the economic recovery in 2021, employment has failed to return to pre-pandemic levels, economists report. The employment rate of the population aged 15 to 64 on average for the country remains slightly above 68%, varying from 52.5% in Montana to about 75% in the Sofia region and Sofia (the capital).
The very strong performance of the Sofia region is noted, which is again ahead of Sofia (the capital). Varna region is in third place with an employment rate of 73.8%, which is also a historical record for the local economy.
In 2021, eight regions report an employment rate above 70%, 15-20 percentage points ahead of those at the bottom of the ranking. All six regions with an employment rate of the working-age population below 60% are located in Northern Bulgaria: Montana, Razgrad, Targovishte, Silistra, Vidin, Vratsa.
In recent years, wages have continued to rise in the country. As of the middle of 2022, the average gross monthly salary in the capital exceeds BGN 2,300. The Sofia region is in second place with an average salary of over BGN 1,600, and within the range of BGN 1,400 - 1,500 are the remunerations in the regions of Varna, Plovdiv, Stara Zagora, Vratsa and Gabrovo.
The lowest salaries in 2022 are reported in Blagoevgrad and Kyustendil - about BGN 1,100 per month, as well as in Vidin, Haskovo and Smolyan. Expectedly, at the level of municipalities, the highest remunerations are in and around the three leading centers - Sofia, Varna and Plovdiv, as well as in the Srednogorieta and several municipalities with large energy companies.
Human capital and the profile of the workforce are key in the transformation process of the economy, economists report. In 2021, nearly 30% of the population aged 25 to 64 has a higher education, and in recent years this share has been rising.
The categorical leader is Sofia (the capital), where 57.7% of the workforce has a higher education. In next place are the regions of Ruse (30.9%), Varna (30.2%) and Veliko Tarnovo (28.6%), which traditionally perform strongly in this indicator.
In at least 12 regions of the country, people with primary and lower education outnumber those with university degrees in the workforce. The share of people with primary and lower education remains extremely high in the districts of Sliven, Razgrad and Targovishte, the data show.
Regional differences in health care are particularly visible in the population's access to doctors, the report states, as the pandemic has also shown this.
While in some regions - Pleven, Sofia (the capital), Plovdiv and Varna - one doctor takes care of an average of less than 200 people from the population, half of the regions in the country have more than 300 people per doctor.
Regional centers with strong medical universities perform significantly better in health access indicators, especially in terms of access to specialist doctors. The number of hospital beds also varies from about 11 beds per 1,000 people in the Pleven district to under 3 beds per 1,000 people in the Pernik, Dobrich and Shumen districts.
In recent years, there has been a steady decline in registered crimes against the person and property in the country, the analysis also states. In 2021, an average of 9.8 crimes against the person and property per 1000 people of the population were registered, while 10 years ago this indicator was at least 1.5 times higher.
Smolyan and Kardzhali remain the safest districts with less than 5 registered crimes against the person and property of 1000 people. The most crimes per 1000 people of the population are reported in the North-West - Montana and Vratsa, as well as in Varna and Burgas, although in the maritime areas the trend is for a serious decline in recent years.
The detection rate is the highest in the Gabrovo region, with nearly 75% of the registered crimes against the person and property during the year being detected. Once again, the detection rate is lowest in Sofia (the capital) and Varna, where consistently less than half of the registered crimes against the person and property are detected within the year.
24.11.2022
THE EU ALLOWED BULGARIA TO INCREASE THE VAT THRESHOLD TO BGN 100,000
The Council of the European Union allowed Bulgaria to introduce a special measure for derogation from Article 287 of Directive 2006/112/EC on the general system of value added tax (VAT), the Ministry of Finance reports.
In this way, our country is allowed to exempt from VAT taxable persons with an annual turnover up to the equivalent in national currency of 51,130 euros at the exchange rate on the day of accession.
The period of validity of the derogation is until 31 December 2024, by which time Member States have to transpose Directive (EU) 2020/285, and accordingly from 1 January 2025 Member States will be allowed to exempt supplies of goods and services from VAT, carried out by taxable persons whose annual turnover does not exceed the threshold of 85,000 euros.
The increase of the minimum threshold for VAT registration from BGN 50,000 to BGN 100,000 is a measure that will have a positive effect in the current difficult economic situation and will lead to a reduction of the administrative burden for businesses, especially for small enterprises.
Persons with a taxable turnover of less than BGN 100,000 may remain voluntarily registered for VAT.
The request for derogation from Art. 287 of Council Directive 2006/112/EC of 28 November 2006 on the common system of value added tax was sent to the European Commission through the Permanent Representation of the Republic of Bulgaria to the European Union on 13 May 2022 and its receipt was confirmed by Commission on 23 May 2022.
23.11.2022
HOW TO USE THE SERVICES OF NAP THROUGH THE NEW SITE?
The National Revenue Agency stopped its old electronic portal on October 17 at 5:30 p.m.
For more than a year, for the convenience of users, the two portals worked simultaneously, during which time all user profiles and access rights were transferred.
Users who use a Personal Identification Code or Qualified Electronic Signature do not need to take any additional steps to identify themselves in the updated portal, as a migration has taken place where access rights and authorizations have been transferred automatically.
In the event that the same authorization of the same persons is performed in both portals, it will be assumed that the users who performed it have already switched to the new portal and the authorization from the old one will not be transferred, explains the National revenue agency.
Users who used the portal with a Qualified Electronic Signature will continue to have full or partial access to the same obligees, the services for them, as before. They will be able to request access to other obligees themselves, grant access to their obligee as well as sub-authorize third parties without either party having to visit an office of the National Revenue Agency.
For users with a Personal Identification Code, it is important to note that when switching to the updated e-services portal of the National Revenue Agency, their current accesses will be preserved and no action is required on their part, the revenue agency said.
23.11.2022
IT WAS AGREED THAT SOCIAL BENEFITS SHOULD BE TIED TO THE POVERTY LINE
The Parliament adopted in the first reading amendments to the Law on Social Assistance introduced by the Council of Ministers with 106 votes "for" and 23 "abstentions". The amendments provide that social benefits will be determined based on the amount of the poverty line for the relevant year, determined by a decree of the Council of Ministers. Currently, social benefits are determined on the basis of a guaranteed minimum income. The amendments are proposed to take effect from 1 June 2023.
Currently, the guaranteed minimum income, on which all social payments and benefits are based, has been BGN 75 for many years. Next year the poverty line will rise by 22 percent compared to the poverty line we have now. The normative act has been adopted and it has immediate effect from January 1, 2023.
A new type of increased support for disabled people under the Disability Act will come in automatically from 1 January 2023, because there benefits are tied to the official poverty line.
As for the Law on Social Assistance, since last year actions were taken, with which, despite the fact that the guaranteed minimum income was not changed and is BGN 75, correction coefficients were adopted, which in practice tied access to social assistance to a percentage of the current line of poverty, which for this year is 413 BGN.
22.11.2022
MORE AND MORE PEOPLE ARE WORKING AFTER RETIREMENT
The tendency for the Bulgarian to work after retirement is becoming more and more distinct. In 2018, pensioners with a personal pension who are working reached 295,500 people, and for the period 2014-2018, the number of working pensioners increased by about 30 percent. These are the trends that are naturally imposed due to the demographic crisis, growing into a catastrophe that we have not yet realized, commented Svetlana Doncheva - head of the "Center for Project Management" at the Bulgarian Industrial Association (BIA).
These days, at an international conference, part of the results of the project "Inspired by experience: Longer together - a path to success" were presented, financed by the European Social Fund through the operational program "Development of human resources", which is being worked on in the period 2019-2021
The processing industry, education and healthcare are the three sectors in which the aging of the labor force is felt most strongly, noted Doncheva. "Arena of youth" are the IT sector, financial and insurance sectors.
The lack of labor force is felt in almost all spheres of economic life, and the lack of highly qualified specialists directly affects the competitiveness of Bulgarian companies. In just ten years, according to the last population census, the number of the working population in Bulgaria has decreased by 415,000 people. This trend will deepen if there are no adequate policies.
Generation T
The positive trend of increasing the average life expectancy naturally leads to an increase in working life as well. For 2022, in Bulgaria, men who have reached the age of 64 years and 5 months with 39 years and 2 months of service, and women who have reached 61 years and 10 months with 36 years of service have the right to receive a pension for insurance service and age and 2 months.
Smoothly until 2037, according to the age criterion, both sexes will equalize and retire at 65 years. This process of an increasingly long working life, combined with the negative demographic processes that lead to a decrease in the total number of working population, determines the increasing importance of the so-called generation T (the traditionalists), commented the expert. These are the people who grew up in the period of the establishment of socialism and the state planned economy and who have to extend their stay at the workplace because there is no one to replace them.
She pointed out that this problem is particularly sensitive in traditional industries, such as manufacturing, and added that it will deepen. The demographic replacement rate in Bulgaria has an extremely negative value - 69, which means that for every 100 people who leave the working age, 69 are replaced, the remaining 31 are not, and they are usually replaced by people who are already in Retirement age. According to the expert, we will increasingly see working pensioners.
The other industries that account for large numbers of working people, both pre- and post-retirement age, are education and healthcare. The shortage of personnel in health care is appalling, and in education, despite the fact that much has been done in recent years to make this profession more attractive to young people, there are still not enough positive results. The share of teachers in pre-retirement and post-retirement age is still high, one of the reasons being precisely the lack of young specialists to replace them.
Working after retirement is not so scary
Actually, according to experts, working past retirement age isn't so scary. This is a matter of personal perception and need or need, but in order for this to actually happen, it is necessary to provide the appropriate working conditions, tailored to the workplace needs of the older generations. These people become the most valuable employees and they must be retained.
This is starting to be realized by more and more employers, the expert said. The most expensive measures to implement are related to the adaptation of workplaces and improvement of working conditions to the needs of generation T. Other measures that are recommended to be included in the company's internal programs are related to the imposition of a new understanding, that the specifics of different generations should be used to create a working environment that highlights the strengths of each generation, promotes mutual understanding and solidarity between different generations in the interest of common business goals.
Youth versus experience
Usually, in a work environment where people of different generations have to work in a team, conflicts are related to attitudes to work and new technologies. They are also the most common prerequisite for the occurrence of discrimination in the workplace. It is not news that older people have a harder time accepting technological innovations, while their younger colleagues absorb them faster. At some point, the traditional hierarchy breaks down and young people advance more in the profession, because they learn technology faster, and then prejudices are created against older people, that they are no longer fit for work, the expert's observations show.
According to her, the task of team leaders is to create an atmosphere of solidarity, because in fact, Generation T does not mind learning and absorbing technical innovations, but they need enough time for this. The expert's observations show that older employees prefer not to go to traditional courses to improve digital skills, but rather want it to happen in the form of an exchange of experience at their workplace and through company training.
Conflict in the multigenerational workplace is also generated from the old to the young, born of the understanding of Generation T that success and rising in the hierarchy come after many years of hard work, and the misunderstanding of the young that success and promotion can happen "in one night".
Regarding the motivational factors that drive different generations, the research debunks a myth about younger workers. For representatives of Generation Z (born between 1993 and 2001), not the amount of remuneration, but meaningful work is of primary importance. For them to feel engaged, the work must be challenging and varied. They are looking for exciting projects and ventures, causes to which they can give all their time, energy and passion.
Generation T in Europe
The eDigiStars project, in which 19 other organizations from 8 Danube countries are partners, aimed at increasing the digital skills of Generation T, is based on the common understanding that, regardless of nationality, older workers have their place in the labor market even in digital technology professions. The needs of generation T in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe are similar and require similar measures - appropriate motivation, adapted trainings and learning contents, and a recognized certification system to determine the quality of training. Above all, however, there is a change in the attitudes of older employees, who must realize that modern work requires continuous improvement and upgrading of existing knowledge and skills.
21.11.2022
THE EC WARNED OF THE BEGINNING OF THE RECESSION
The European Commission (EC) has lowered its forecast for EU GDP growth in 2023 from 1.5% to 0.3%, noting that in the fourth quarter of 2022 the economies of most of the bloc's countries will not avoid recession.
Amid heightened uncertainty, high energy price pressures, declining household purchasing power, a weaker external environment and tight financing conditions, the euro area and most member states are expected to enter recession, the EC report said for the quarter.
By the end of 2022, the average economic growth of EU member states is expected to be 3.3%. The European Commission attributes the improved forecast to an increase in consumer spending on services following the lifting of restrictions imposed due to COVID-19. In the second half of this year, the Eurozone economy entered a more difficult phase. As a result, economic growth will decline by 0.5% in the final three months of the year and then decline by a further 0.1% in the first quarter of 2023.
According to the report, the economy of three countries will eventually face a decline in 2023. These are Germany, Sweden and Latvia. At the same time, the GDP of Germany, the largest economy in the bloc, will decrease by 0.6% for the year and will be the worst indicator in the eurozone.
According to the EC's forecast, in 2024, Europe's economy will gain momentum, increasing by 1.6% in the EU and by 1.5% in the Eurozone. Brussels officials admit that the EU's economic outlook "remains extremely uncertain" as Russia's military actions continue in Ukraine, and "the potential for further economic operations is far from exhausted".
According to the European Commissioner for the Economy, Paolo Gentiloni, the main threat comes from the unfavorable development of the gas market and the risk of shortages, especially in the winter of 2023-2024.
"Rising energy prices and rampant inflation are now taking their toll and we are facing a very difficult period both socially and economically," he stressed.
The eurozone economy is suffering from record inflation, which hit an all-time high of 10.7% in October. Price growth is expected to be 8.5% at the end of the year and 6.1% in 2023.
18.11.2022
LIFETIME DISABILITY IS AVAILABLE FOR CERTAIN ILLNESSES
The Ministry of Health proposes changes to the Ordinance on medical expertise. They envisage increasing the percentage of permanently reduced work capacity and the type and degree of disability in some diseases, and in others the term of disability will become lifelong.
For example, type 2 diabetes patients with two or more complications are proposed to have a lifetime disability. The reason is that at this stage of the development of the disease, the prognosis for improving the condition is negative, it is written in the reasons for the bill. Lifetime disability is also offered to people suffering from very frequent and severe epileptic seizures, as well as to those with severe Multiple Sclerosis.
In the case of moderate epileptic seizures, the percentage of permanently reduced working capacity and the type and degree of disability is predicted to change from 70 to 71, which places patients in the higher disability group. Lifetime has also been suggested in thyroid carcinoma and survival beyond five years.
For children and adults with mental illnesses, foreign aid can also be determined for a degree of disability below 90 percent, depending on the nature of the illness and the possibility of raising the children outside the family (nursery, kindergarten, school, etc.), and for persons with mental illnesses and depending on the loss of basic social and key skills, leading to the impossibility of existing without control, the changes also foresee.
A completely new classification of degrees of hearing loss and their corresponding evaluation in percentages is also proposed, according to the latest classification of the World Health Organization, related to the application of the Claudel Portman table.
According to a new methodology, the percentage of reduced working capacity and degree of disability will be determined when several disabilities are present.
The assessment is determined by adding 20% of the sum of the percentages of the other accompanying disabilities to the highest percentage based on the relevant starting point of the most severe (leading) disability, and if it is not 100%. In the case of a determined 100% permanently reduced working capacity/type and degree of disability according to the relevant starting point of the most severe (leading) disability, the accompanying disabilities are not added to the assessment, but are written in the reasons for the expert decision, together with the relevant starting point and percentage.
Issuance of a sick leave for looking after a child up to the age of 12, attending a children's institution or school, in contact with an infectious person, mandatorily quarantined at home, and for looking after a child up to the age of 12, attending a children's institution or a school, returned from there, due to quarantine imposed on that establishment or school, or on a particular group or class therein.
17.11.2022
UNEMPLOYMENT IN OUR COUNTRY IN OCTOBER IS 4.3 PERCENT
The level of registered unemployment in the country of 4.3 percent was reported in October by the administrative statistics of the Employment Agency.
From there, they note that after the end of seasonal employment, on a monthly basis, a very slight increase of 0.1 percentage points is observed compared to September 2022. In the dynamics on an annual basis, a decline is still observed, which for this October is 0.4 percentage points.
At the end of the month, the registered unemployed at the labor offices totaled 141,987. This is 3,607 more than the record low number reported in September, according to the Employment Agency.
During the month, 25,482 new unemployed were registered. They are 3168 more than the previous month and 150 people more than those registered in October 2021. Another 695 people from the groups of jobseekers employed, students and pensioners also registered at the labor offices during the month.
There were 12,846 unemployed people who started work in October. 242 persons from the groups of pensioners, students and the employed also found work through the employment offices. During the month, the largest share of those who started work in the processing industry sector - 19 percent, followed by those in trade - 12.8 percent, hotels and restaurants - 6.7 percent, state administration - 6.3 percent, construction – 5.9 percent and others.
The statistics report that 1,884 unemployed people from the risk groups were assigned to subsidized jobs during the month - 1,477 under employment programs and measures and 407 under the Operational Program "Human Resources Development" schemes. During the month, 415 unemployed and employed persons were included in various trainings, and 529 completed the training started in previous months, acquiring a new profession or key competence.
Claimed jobs on the primary labor market in October were 11,521. The largest number of job vacancies in the real economy were claimed in the manufacturing industry (32.4 percent), followed by trade, car and motorcycle repair (12.8 percent), hotel and restaurant industry (10.5 percent), education (8.1 percent), administrative and auxiliary activities (7.7 percent) and public administration (6.2 percent).
The most sought-after professions by businesses during the month are: machine operators of stationary machines and equipment; sellers; personnel employed in the field of personal services; workers in the mining and processing industries, construction and transport; staff caring for people; metallurgists, machine builders and related workers, and artisans; waste collection and related workers; drivers of motor vehicles and mobile equipment; installers; customer service staff, etc.
In September, the Employment Agency reported that the number of unemployed persons registered in the labor offices for the month was 138,380. The agency specifies that the unemployment rate is defined as the share of registered unemployed persons from the economically active population aged 15-64, established in the 2011 Census.
