Results of the European Economic Survey on the companies’ business expectations in Bulgaria and Europe

Bulgarian businesses have cautious but positive expectations for the economic development in 2026

The Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry presentеd the results of the “European Economic Survey 2026” (EES2026), the 33rd consecutive such annual exercise coordinated by the Association of European Chambers of Commerce and Industry (EUROCHAMBRES), with the support of the network of chambers of commerce and industry.

The new edition is based on contributions from 28 national chambers of commerce and industry and more than 41,000 European enterprises, a large share of which are SMEs.

 The BCCI is EUROCHAMBRES’ partner for the survey in Bulgaria for the 27th consecutive time. More than 800 entrepreneurs and representatives of Bulgarian businesses expressed their expectations, exceeding the minimum requirement of 400 respondents. Thus, BCCI doubled the representativeness of the survey this year and covered larger groups from different industries and sectors of the Bulgarian economy.

The survey was conducted through questionnaire-based interviews with companies in September 2025. However, the period in which it was carried out spares a considerable amount of the negative assessments regarding expectations and the business environment that Bulgarian entrepreneurs would otherwise give to the current situation, in the context of the announced draft State Budget for 2026.

In line with established practice, the BCCI sent the survey results to the state institutions to facilitate their work in planning and implementing reforms.

Specifically for Bulgaria, the challenges are ranked as follows:
• Labour costs (58% of respondents)
• Lack of skilled workers (56% of respondents)
• Financial conditions (50% of respondents)
Bulgarian businesses have reserved but positive expectations for the economic development in 2026.

The three biggest business challenges for the next year, identified by respondents at European level, are:
1. Labour costs
2.  Regulatory burden
3.  Lack of skilled workers.

Key EES2026 policy messages:
• Ensure predictability and financial support to manage excessive production costs.
• Promote digital and smarter simplification
• Reduce single market fragmentation and address the “terrible ten” barriers
• Skills as a competitive advantage
• Power the green transition through affordable energy
• Enhance Europe’s opportunities to trade globally

The detailed survey results are presented as follows:
• A summary for all European countries participating in the study (see here)
• The official EUROCHAMBRES report on EES2026 (in English, see here)