Bulgaria's accession to the eurozone is undoubtedly a big plus for European companies that would like to invest in Bulgaria. Doing business will be much easier after January 1, 2026, economists are categorical. The adoption of the euro is a strong signal of stability and reliability to the international and financial markets.
The single European currency is “welcome” for trade between Bulgaria and the other members of the eurozone, as it means lower costs and less administrative burden, analysts add.
The complex economic situation on a global scale and the realignment of forces that we are witnessing, however, scare entrepreneurs and they prefer to take a wait-and-see approach. This largely ignores the advantages of our country's accession to the eurozone at this very moment.
The direct influence of global and local economic changes is also proven by the results of Austrian companies doing business in Bulgaria. According to 41% of them, the economic climate in the world is deteriorating. The percentage that estimates that the Bulgarian economy is also deteriorating is almost the same - 40%. The percentage of companies that do not observe any change in the economic situation both in the world and in our country over the past 12 months is the same - 42%.
Investors are not optimistic about the next 12 months either. Between 25% and 30% believe that there will be a deterioration in the world and in our country, and about 50% are of the opinion that there will be no change.
For the last year, Austrian investments are almost absent. 60% of Austrian companies established on the Bulgarian market did not make new investments in 2025, and 17% observed a "deterioration" of this indicator. Unfortunately, 56% do not plan to increase their investments in our country in 2026, and 17% plan to reduce them. Only 26% plan to increase investments in the new year.
Austrian investors in Bulgaria report deterioration of political stability - 56%, reduction in predictability of economic policy - 60%.
There is also a deterioration in public procurement - 59% and public financing - 56%. Nearly 67% report the infrastructure in our country as a negative.
Manpower continues to be a problem. 47% define the picture related to the availability of qualified labor as bad. The truth is that labor costs are no longer among the main advantages of the Bulgarian economy. “In fact, over 50% of Austrian managers indicate that labor costs are no longer a competitive advantage. Over the past 4 years, salaries have increased by an average of over 60%“, admitted Philipp Kupfer, Commercial Counselor at the Austrian Embassy and Head of Advantage Austria.
The labor shortage may prove to be one of the most serious obstacles to the further development of the Bulgarian economy. “It is not just about a qualified workforce, but about the workforce in general. The problem can be overcome in several ways. The first is to invest in automation and digitalization, especially in production, in order to reduce the need for people. The second is migration – more and more often when I visit companies I see employees from Central Asia – Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and others, even from more distant regions“, says Kupfer.
According to Austrian business, there is also a deterioration in purchasing power, where half of the surveyed companies report such. This, in turn, leads to a reduction in quality requirements - 45%.
Corruption, both among German and Austrian businesses that make investments in our country, continues to be among the main problems of Bulgaria for another year. Next is bureaucracy, and after that comes infrastructure.
By the third quarter of 2025, Austrian investments in Bulgaria amounted to around EUR 5,322 billion, making the country the second most important foreign investor in our country.