"Bulgaria has obligations to reply why the directive has not been transposed and after this reminder, of course the next step will be an infringement procedure", Isabelle Schomann, deputy general secretary of the European Confederation of Trade Unions, warned during the forum in Sofia. "This is the legal way to move forward and force the member states to transpose the directive. It's not like whether or not a member state will like to transpose the directive. It's an obligation. No one is above the law. This obligation is very important because it secures a level playing field in the internal market so everyone plays by the same rules."‎

The most important in this whole process is the dialogue between the three partners - trade unions, employers and the government, pointed out caretaker Labour Minister Ivaylo Ivanov, explaining that for every directive of the EC, and specifically for this one, Bulgaria is threatened with appropriate sanctions. By the end of the calendar year, the directive must be adopted, he added:‎

"But because it seems that the transposition of the directive automatically leads to an increase in the minimum wage, I must emphasize that we are not talking about that. The minimum wage will be accepted by the government as we have defined it. Currently the coordination procedure is under way. But this is not the goal, the goal is that next year and from now on, when a long-term measure is made, it will be done according to the rules that are listed in the Directive. Trade unions propose an increase in the maximum insurance income, not of all incomes."

The tax system in Bulgaria, based on the flat tax, does not allow to finance the costs of social systems, education, healthcare and those to whom the government pays - such as civil servants, those working in culture, social care and all others systems, said CITUB President Plamen Dimitrov. He sees a solution to the problem in the increase of the tax on the maximum insurance income.

"It is important to comment on this topic now, when the parties go to the elections. After that, no one asks them anymore, so we insist that they now give an answer to the question of income taxes. We look forward twenty years from now - to 2045, and we propose an increase in contributions by 1% each year for the Pension Fund in the State Social Insurance and 1% to the second pillar - the capital schemes. Because there is no way with a 5% contribution, in the end, we want to receive a meaningful pension. We see that now the numbers are quite low. We see that from ‎taxes, the budget will be very difficult to compensate for the ‎growing hole due to excessive expenses, including for the National Insurance Institute."‎

According to the trade union, there should be an increase in tax rates in order to supplement, not cut, the budget of the National Revenue Agency for 2025. And this, according to the trade unionists, is not a matter of political choice - there are no left and right interests here, but a matter of calculations and pragmatic decisions that indicate that the increase in taxes is inevitable. But the choice of how to do this is in the hands of politicians in the next parliament and government.