Representatives of AOBE have a meet with the Minister of Innovation and Growth Milena Stoycheva

The representatives of the managements of the organizations-members of the Association of Bulgarian Employers' Organizations /AOBЕ/- BICA, BIA, BCCI and CEIB held a meeting with the Minister of Innovation and Growth, Milena Stoicheva, at which they discussed the priorities of the AOBЕ for 2023. and the interaction between Mininstry of innovations and Growth and business.

Minister Stoicheva presented the ministry's priorities, stating: "For us, good interaction with the business environment is key. I hope that this meeting will be the beginning of an active dialogue and of regular meetings in the future. We rely a lot on your feedback because we need to work together so that the country moves forward."

Stoycheva outlined five priorities for her team. Among them are turning Bulgaria into a destination for high-tech investments and intellectual capital, building a sustainable basis for the development of the entrepreneurial and startup ecosystem, creating opportunities to stimulate key sectors with high added value, based on research and development, technology transfer and education, creating a favorable environment for sustainable economic growth, including all interested environments according to the so-called "open innovation" model. Minister Stoycheva also indicated that an analysis and evaluation of all tools and measures available to the ministry through its structures is being prepared in order to fully implement the policies in the direction of a green, digital and socially fair transition.

"We thank you for the quick reaction and for the opportunity to present the priorities of the AOBE in the field of innovation and growth," said the general secretary of the BCCI Vasil Todorov. He emphasized the importance of adopting the Law on Promotion of Scientific Research and Innovation, which has already undergone public consultation.

The General Secretary of the BCCI expressed a position that in the case of future funding of Centers of Excellence and Competence Centers, it is necessary to introduce a clear regulation regarding the use of industrial property sites created in cooperation between enterprises and scientific organizations, introducing a dividing line regarding the possibility for enterprises to freely use the sites in their activities, and for scientific organizations to use the results in their future scientific activities. Emphasis was also placed on the need to increase the number of small and medium-sized enterprises and organizations financed under the Horizon Europe 2021-2027 program and to carry out an analysis of the small number of Bulgarian beneficiaries who have so far won projects under the EU framework programs.

Vasil Todorov also emphasized the need to promote cluster structures, which are an extremely useful tool applied in Western Europe to institutionalize interactions between enterprises and scientific organizations, and aimed at creating and developing products or groups of products.

The General Secretary of the BCCI pointed out that it is necessary to transform the deadlines provided for the start of future procedures, specified in the annual work programs of the Monitoring Committees, from instructive to mandatory for the managing body of the relevant programs.

Vasil Velev, chairman of BICA, emphasized the decreasing volume of investments in the country. He pointed out that according to the latest data, gross capital formation represents only 18-19% of GDP, and it is necessary to increase this indicator to 25%. Velev also emphasized the incentives for increasing investment activity in the country, including: competitive electricity prices, provision of sufficient highly qualified human resources, facilitating the possibility of importing personnel, speeding up the procedures for financing projects under the Recovery and Sustainability Plan and the programs financed by the EU for direct investment support. A great opportunity to quickly support, already this month, more than 350 good investment projects is the provision of an additional freed resource for over-contracting under the measure of technological modernization under Plan of Recovery and Stability. The chairman of BICA also noted the rule of law, curbing corruption and the gray sector as important prerequisites for promoting investments.

Dobri Mitrev, chairman of the BIA, focused on scientific research and accelerating the adoption of the Law on Promotion of Scientific Research and Innovation. He also pointed out that it is necessary to ensure business access to the use of the results of scientific research financed with public funds. In this regard, Mitrev emphasized the provision of easier access for enterprises to the infrastructure of Sofia Tech Park and the Centers of Excellence and Competence Centers. The chairman of the BIA also noted the need to review the system of national contact persons under the Horizon Europe program, reviewing the forms of communication with enterprises. Dobri Mitrev emphasized the promotion of the export potential of SMEs by reviewing the activities carried out by EAPSME. Mitrev also emphasized the need for a review and possible correction of the Innovation Strategy for Intelligent Specialization.

Teodora Ovcharova, expert, CEIB, emphasized the need to promote innovation, not only in start-ups and new enterprises, but also in existing ones that need financing for equipment. She shared that the application under the Technological Modernization procedure under the NPRS has shown the exceptional interest and need of business for investments in technological equipment to modernize production, and it is necessary to take steps for over-contracting under the procedure.

Ovcharova also emphasized the need for changes in the Ordinance on specifying irregularities that constitute grounds for carrying out financial corrections, and the percentage indicators for determining the amount of financial corrections in accordance with the Law on the Management of the European Structural and Investment Funds, adopted with PMS No. 57 of 28.03.2017, since the norms of the Ordinance do not take into account the drastic changes in the economic environment after the pandemic, which are an objective obstacle to achieving an indicator and, related to turnover and profits. She also shared about the delay in launching new instruments from the Fund of Funds.

Radoslav Petkov, Chairman of the Council for Innovation, Digitalization and New Technologies at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, emphasized the need to create a more effective relationship in the programming of the procedures between business and the governing bodies of the National Recovery and Sustainability Plan and the 2021-2027 CIE Program. He shared that it is necessary to focus on optimizing (shortening) the deadlines for carrying out the procedures related to the development of innovations, supporting innovative start-up companies and providing an opportunity for the development of projects with high added value by engaging the attention of financial institutions to the activities of European innovation hubs, etc.

Violin Nenov, member of the NC of BICA and chairman of the Bulgarian branch chamber "Engineering" emphasized the need to focus on industrial enterprises when preparing the guidelines for applying for separate procedures, as well as changing the regulations for applying and reporting under the National Innovation Fund, which he defined as outdated.

At the end of the meeting, Minister Stoycheva stated "We are aware of all the questions you raise and we will do everything that depends on the Ministry of Innovation and Growth to resolve them. Each of the topics will be addressed. Specifically for the "Technological Modernization" procedure, the Ministry has taken all the necessary concrete steps to ensure that a maximum number of enterprises can benefit from the resource."