Bulgaria, the country with the lowest GDP per capita in the European Union (EU), faces a number of protracted socio-economic challenges. The EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) provides the country with the largest ever public funding instrument to address these challenges up to 2027. However, to achieve lasting change the Bulgarian government needs to leverage the EU funding resources to attract constructive capital from the private sector, i.e. investments that are transparent, accountable, and market-oriented.

This report provides an Action Agenda for reform and how to attract constructive capital based on an analysis of the EU and national long-term strategic documents and consultations with business stakeholders across Bulgaria’s six regions. Bulgaria needs to tackle first and foremost rule of law gaps to unlock constructive capital investments for economic growth and technological transformation. The Action Agenda pays special attention to recommendations in the fields of digitalization, green technologies, innovation and entrepreneurship, the priority areas of European public investments. It outlines further opportunities as to how Bulgaria can benefit from international cooperation, such as the Three Seas Initiative.