The digitization of the Bulgarian economy and the Bulgarian companies, as well as the digital skills not only of the working people, but also of all groups in society, will be the main topics in the future work of the Economic and Social Council (ESC), said the newly elected by the National Assembly Chairperson of the ESC Zornitsa Rusinova. She participated in a webinar of the World Bank dedicated to the recently published World Bank report “Europe 4.0: Addressing the Digital Dilemma”. If we are talking about digital transformation now, we will soon be talking about digital convergence, the Chairperson of the ESC expressed her position.

The discussion, organized by the World Bank branch in Bulgaria, is a step towards the decisions that Bulgaria is going to make towards accelerating the digitization process, Ms. Rusinova further said. She emphasized that in the context of the global process of digitization, which was further accelerated by the Covid 19 pandemic, Bulgaria is still not well positioned. According to the report of the World Bank, the comparison between different countries regarding the speed of digitization of the economy does not benefit our country. However, Bulgaria has its excellent specialists in the field of high-tech technologies and they will help with the processes which we have to catch up with others, the Chairperson of the ESC voiced hope. The changes that occur affect not only the economy, they affect the whole society in many aspects, Zornitsa Rusinova further commented. According to her one of the main challenges which Bulgaria is facing is to create basic skills among society for dealing with new technologies, as well as to pay particular attention to the rights of consumers and their protection from possible risks. We also have an obligation to inform consumers about their opportunities in the digital environment and how to make proper use of them, she added.

The Chairperson of the ESC outlined that the discussion of the World Bank on accelerating the digitization in Bulgaria will also continue at the Economic and Social Council through discussions between employers, trade unions, the third sector and representatives of the academic community in the search for new ways to achieve the objectives pursued and Bulgaria to have leading indicators regarding the digitization of the economy and regarding the new skills of people.

The Deputy Minister of Economy Stamen Yanev, representatives of the World Bank, the Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, economists and other experts also took part in the webinar. Fabritsio Dzarkone, a Permanent Representative of the World Bank for Bulgaria, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, Europe and Central Asia presented the report on Industry 4.0 and put emphasis on the main highlights in it.