Bulgaria places among the EU countries with lowest levels of efficiency and steadfast development in economy. Labor productivity of the Bulgarians continues to be at the bottom of the European rankings. The European citizen created and average of EUR 32.2 per hour in 2012, while a Bulgarian worker managed to form seven times less added value-nearly EUR 4.8 per hour, show data of the European Statistical Office. Moreover, Bulgaria exports to other European countries less items with high added value such as machinery, which means that the Bulgarian economy failed to boost the efficiency of its work force and resources. That is why in 2011 the average resource efficiency in the EU was eight times higher than the one in Bulgaria.

All these facts eloquently show that the Bulgarian economy has to be substantially modernized. The latter means that new technologies and equipment have to be introduced in the state economy-in other words it needs more innovations. Undoubtedly, each Bulgarian company would like to produce modern and competitive items and sell them easily on the local and the international market. The problem is that a substantial financial resource is needed for the modernization of the production, the commercial and the management systems. However, such financial resource can not be found easily after the heavy crisis. And here comes the role of the state.

No one wants and expects from the state to give money to the business or buy it new machinery and equipment, but everyone counts on it to create the necessary political, fiscal, economic and legislative environment, so that the business can invest easier and cheaper in innovations and modernization. The words of Deputy Premier for Economic Development Daniela Bobeva are quite eloquent. In her view, the government has an active policy regarding innovations. “We are to spend for the first time EUR 10 million from the state budget on innovations. However, I am convinced that the private sector is the one which can guarantee economic development based on innovations”, Daniela Bobeva underlined. In her view, science and business must speak one language, in order to train personnel needed for the Bulgarian economy. The issue regarding the reindustrialization of Bulgaria has become topical recently. In this respect, the Bulgarian government is trying to play an active part and has started to prepare a special program for the future reindustrialization of the country. It became clear that the accent in this program will fall on the introduction of innovations in the Bulgarian enterprises as instrument which helps the companies generate higher economic growth. “We want to support the companies with innovations and intelligent technologies which would make them become more competitive”, commented Bulgaria’s Minister of Economy and Energy Dragomir Stoynev. Bulgaria should turn from a net exporter of raw materials into a country which exports processed produce, in order to rely on higher economic stability and position better in the world rankings regarding the Global Innovations Index. That is why Bulgaria will also count on the EU Operational Programme Innovation and Competitiveness 2014-2020.

English version: Kostadin Atanasov