There is no way to talk about a modern economy without science and knowledge. That is why we are obliged to invest in them. Funding for science is increasing by almost 100% – 62 million euros. Prime Minister Rumen Radev said this at the University of National and World Economy during the official presentation of the state budget for 2027. The prime minister highlighted a number of initiatives in this area that are important for Bulgaria, including the construction of the country’s first artificial intelligence gigafactory, the European digital wallet, cooperation with the European Space Agency and with NATO’s “DIANA” initiative. Radev also pointed to tax relief for investments in high technologies, digitalisation and innovation.
“Our goal is clear – to raise the standard and quality of life of Bulgarian citizens through sustainable and accelerated economic growth. At long last, we must take advantage of our strategic geographical location and turn it into a strategic asset. This means logistics hubs, transport services and connectivity,” Radev also said. The prime minister noted that it was no coincidence that the president of the European Commission had specifically named Bulgaria as the host of the upcoming Connectivity Summit.
The prime minister also noted that it was important for our country to take advantage of the benefits of its stable energy grid and balanced energy mix, the conditions for renewable energy sources, and the fact that Bulgaria had become number one in the world in terms of battery capacity for storing electricity per capita.
“All this creates an opportunity for us to start developing the industries of the future. To build on our traditions in robotics and mechatronics,” Radev said. In his words, these measures are also part of the joint efforts to guarantee Europe’s strategic autonomy and address the new challenges. “Europe must urgently develop robotics because it is threatened by demographic collapse – it is already creeping in. This decline is being offset by migrants, with varying degrees of success. We can see that we have enormous problems with integration, and this leads to political instability. So robotics will be the future of Europe. And Bulgaria has traditions and a foundation on which to develop this sector,” Radev said.
The prime minister also highlighted Bulgaria’s role in the development of European space capabilities. Radev noted the achievements of the company “EnduroSat” in recent years, which had managed to manufacture and launch into orbit three times more small satellites than all European countries combined. One of Europe’s largest industrial parks for space technologies, research and development is to be established at the former Dobroslavtsi air base. “Here we will unlock enormous potential,” Rumen Radev said, adding that it was necessary to change the trajectory of our economy by transforming it into a knowledge-based economy, an economy of high productivity and high added value.
“It is important to unlock the entrepreneurial spirit of Bulgarians. More than 100 billion euros are currently sitting in banks. With all that we are offering, as well as many other regulatory changes, relief measures and incentives. Our primary goal is Bulgarian business – to help it, to unlock the initiative of Bulgarians, so that more and more people withdraw their money from banks and invest it in active economic activity,” the prime minister noted. Radev also stressed the importance of attracting more strategic foreign investment, which would make it possible to build an ecosystem of new technologies and new industries and would contribute to the comprehensive modernisation of the state – from education, to public services and manufacturing.