Negotiations over Economic and Social Development Pact

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In late October 2005, talks aimed at concluding a tripartite Economic and Social Development Pact were well underway in Bulgaria. The planned agreement, aimed at helping Bulgaria meet the requirements for joining the EU in 2007, would be the country's first such accord since it began its economic and political transition process.

After the general elections in June 2005, three parties - the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP), the National Movement Simeon II (NMSII) and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) (BG0503102F) - have formed a coalition government. The new cabinet has stated its willingness to engage in social dialogue, after a period when such dialogue was seen be some observers as being mainly formal and inefficient. The first step involved meetings between the Prime Minister and representatives of employers’ associations and trade unions. The result of the meeting with the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria (CITUB) and the Confederation of Labour Podkrepa (CL Podkrepa) (BG0307204F) was a decision to open negotiations over a Social and Economic Development Pact. This will be the first such accord since the beginning of the democratic changes in Bulgaria.

The Ministry of Labour and Social Policy has presented a proposal for the structure of the pact, based on documents already signed by the leaderships of representative trade union and employers' organisations before the elections.

The aim of the planned Social and Economic Development Pact is to achieve a broad public consensus on the realisation of the country’s efforts to respond to the requirements for Bulgaria’s accession to the European Union (EU) on 1 January 2007. The parties declare their adherence to the principles of the 'European social model', the social market economy, social partnership and the 'European industrial relations model'.

The main priorities emphasised in the planned Pact are:

• Bulgaria’s accession to the European Union on 1 January 2007 and full participation in its bodies and institutions;

• economic growth that keeps up with the EU, increasing incomes, and cohesion in the quality of life;

• enhanced judicial reform, ensuring fast, efficient, transparent, fair and accessible justice;

• a guaranteed and accessible healthcare system;

• high and sustainable annual economic growth of 6%-8%;

• modernisation of the state, establishing a 'knowledge-based' economy, increasing the employment rate and training the workforce in line with the principles of the EU's Lisbon strategy;

• development of the market economy, based on competition, encouraging private initiative and entrepreneurship;

• continuation of the processes of privatisation, encouragement of competition and liberalisation, while observing the interests of society;

• achieving social-economic cohesion through the elimination of regional discrepancies and the maintenance of dynamic regional development; and

• decisive measures against organised crime, corruption and the informal economy;

In the social dialogue area, the following changes are expected:

• changes to the mechanisms and criteria for the determination of the social partners’ representativeness at national level;

• encouraging the participation of the social partners and other non-governmental organisations in the design and implementation of state policies at various levels;

• the development of regulations for the nomination of Bulgarian representatives on the EU's European Economic and Social Committee;

• a requirement that a well-grounded refusal be sent by government representatives to the social partners in cases when their proposals drawn up in the social partnership bodies are not accepted; and

• preliminary coordination of the legislative acts that have to be discussed with the social partners.

The negotiations were continuing in late October 2005

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