BULGARIA Trends and Developments Contributed by: Yordan Naydenov and Hristian Gueorguiev, Boyanov & Co.
Act and the EU Digital Markets Act in order to put the online platforms and services that operate in the EU under regulation, with the aim of ensuring fair com - petition, transparency, accountability and consumer protection in the digital economy, still poses signifi - cant challenges. As to the green transition, Bulgaria has a mixed record, with some achievements and some challenges. According to the Climate Change Performance Index 2025, Bulgaria ranked 50th out of 65 countries. The progress that the country has made in the past dec - ade is evident, but it still lags behind many other coun - tries which managed to restructure their economies in an eco-friendlier way faster. The efforts of Bulgaria should be within the EU Green Deal, the ambitious comprehensive plan to make the EU climate-neutral by 2050. There will be many challenges associated with this. As a minimum, businesses will have to: • enhance their digital capabilities and online pres - ence, and offer innovative and customer-centric digital products and services; • invest in digital infrastructure and security, and comply with EU regulations and standards; • upskill and reskill the workforce, and foster a cul - ture of learning and collaboration; • close the gap between hiring business entities and higher education centres so that fresh graduates are ready to fulfil practical business requirements from day one if possible; • fully digitalise administration and aim for a maxi - mum application of the “one-desk service” policy; • embrace the green transition and adopt sustain - able and circular business models and practices; and • invest in green technologies and practices, in line with EU legislation and norms. At the same time, the “good old uglies” have not been completely forgotten. The project to build two new reactors (7 and 8) at the Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant aims to add new capacity using Westinghouse AP1000 technology to strengthen Bulgaria’s long‑term energy security and replace ageing baseload generation. The project is being developed by the state‑owned com - pany Kozloduy NPP – New Builds, with Westinghouse as provider of the technology and Hornaday as the
main constructor. Once completed, the new units are expected to provide reliable, low‑carbon power for several decades, supporting both domestic demand and exports. As a result, more and more businesses in Bulgaria could achieve growth and competitiveness in the region and beyond, and either become attractive tar - gets for potential M&A deals or joint ventures or in their turn look for appropriate deals that would allow them to further grow and expand their activities. It goes without saying that the two trends above are of primary importance for the sectors that are meant to create and operate within that environment, ie, IT, fintech, renewable energy, etc. At the same time, other business sectors that are worth keeping in mind are real estate (a traditionally strong sector for Bulgaria), telecommunications, leisure and tourism. We also see a trend to have the production capacity of Europe restored and we have witnessed deals in that field, so it could be reasonably expected that such deals would continue. Conclusion In 2026, Bulgaria will continue to navigate a myriad of political, economic and legal challenges and oppor - tunities. For the time being, 2026 seems to be fos - tering reasonable optimism for settlement of many open global conflicts. The country must adapt and respond in ways that enhance its investment appeal and regional and global economic competitiveness. Its full integration into the EU, including its admis - sion to the eurozone and the Schengen Area, must be utilised in the best possible way to that purpose. The path ahead is clear: joining the OECD, fulfilling its obligations to NATO allies and strengthening its defence capabilities, and creating an environment that is appealing to investment. Improving the political and business climate is imperative for positive develop - ments across all sectors of the Bulgarian economy and is a prerequisite for sustained growth. Acknowledgement: This article (its second part in par - ticular) includes market information and analysis that was published in Capital (Bulgarian online edition for economic news and analysis from Bulgaria, represent - ing part of the portfolio of the Economedia group).
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