Balgarianovinite.com Bulgaria and the OECD are working to complete Bulgaria’s accession to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development in 2026, as OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann presented the OECD Economic Survey of Bulgaria 2025 in Sofia and Bulgarian officials outlined the remaining steps and priorities on Thursday.
Cormann spoke at a press conference in the Granite Hall at the Council of Ministers, where he said Bulgaria’s progress towards OECD membership has been very good in recent months and that the government’s engagement over the past 12 months is highly valued, adding he hopes the process can be concluded successfully by the end of 2026.
“In recent years, Bulgaria has steadily narrowed income disparities compared with OECD countries. The reforms adopted as part of the country’s accession process to the OECD will allow for further progress by strengthening competition and supporting the fight against corruption,” Cormann said. “Public debt is low, but prudent fiscal policy is now needed to preserve long-term fiscal sustainability and help bring down elevated inflation. Raising business productivity – in particular by reducing barriers to market entry – and improving the school system should be key structural policy priorities,” he added. Outgoing Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov, outgoing Finance Minister Temenuzhka Petkova and outgoing Foreign Minister Georg Georgiev attended the briefing.
Zhelyazkov said OECD accession is Bulgaria’s next major economic and political task and argued that membership is not just a matter of prestige but a factor for investment potential and the environment in which Bulgarian society and business develop. He outlined the process as organized into 25 thematic working groups, reported progress in completed reviews, and said Bulgaria’s key challenges relate to competitiveness, rooted in better education, a stronger labour market, an improved investment climate and more effective public administration. He expressed hope the effort would yield membership “as early as 2027”, while also arguing that successive governments would remain committed to the goal.
National Assembly Chair Raya Nazaryan met with Cormann during his official visit to the National Assembly. Nazaryan said Bulgaria continues work on meeting OECD recommendations and aims to complete the accession process in 2026, describing OECD membership as a cross-party national priority involving all competent institutions.
She highlighted Parliament’s role in expediting OECD-related legislation, saying that over the past 18 months the National Assembly has passed 11 bills amending existing legislation tied to implementing OECD recommendations, most recently in January, and noted the establishment in May last year of a Subcommittee to Support Bulgaria’s OECD Accession Process with MPs from all parliamentary parties. Nazaryan said Bulgaria remains committed to macroeconomic stability and fiscal discipline and is addressing recommendations related to competitiveness, innovation and human capital, the energy and digital transitions, transparency and combating corruption.
The OECD Economic Survey of Bulgaria concludes that stronger and more resilient growth would be supported by boosting business productivity and addressing fiscal pressures, recommending front-loaded fiscal consolidation and longer-term measures to manage pressures related to defence spending, the green transition, ageing and investment needs, including by reducing informality and improving tax compliance. It says Bulgaria’s income has continued to converge towards OECD advanced economies, though at a slower pace than some regional peers, while the productivity gap remains relatively large, and urged a gradual rebalancing of growth from consumption to investment.
“Education outcomes are weak. The population is ageing rapidly, and outward migration has reduced the supply of workers, even though net migration has turned positive in recent years,” the Survey reads. It projects real GDP growth of 3.0% in 2025 and 2.6% in 2026, and advises reforms to improve the business environment, remove obstacles to market entry, support innovation and competition, and step up anti-corruption efforts, alongside measures in climate and energy policy and further education reforms. Bulgaria, OECD See Accession Completed in 2026 2026 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-02-05 20:05:11 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law
