Members of Parliament from the Committee on Labour and Social Policy, the Committee on Education and Science, and the Committee on European Affairs and Oversight of European Funds met with the Executive Vice-President of the European Commission (EC) Roxana Mînzatu, who is responsible for social rights and skills, quality jobs, and training. Roxana Mînzatu introduced them to the priorities of her work and discussed issues related to EU social policy, employment, education, and the implementation of EU-funded programs.

Executive Vice-President Roxana Mînzatu noted that Bulgaria had performed very well in the first two financial periods and that the absorption of European funds was currently good. She informed the MPs that payments under the Recovery and Resilience Plan will end next year, the deadlines are very short and cannot be extended. In this regard, it is important that funding requests are submitted on time and within the deadlines, the Executive Vice-President of the European Commission pointed out.
Among her priorities, Roxana Mînzatu pointed to the Skills Alliance, which aims to create a more effective link between education, training, skills, and the real economy.

Roxana Mînzatu detailed the plans for the Skills Alliance initiative, including a “skills guarantee for workers,” a skills transferability initiative, and a European vocational education diploma. The framework also focuses on improving children's basic skills, including digital skills, and on the idea of creating more informed and engaged citizens among young people, she said. Other priorities include developing a Roadmap for Quality in Workplaces, a Strategy against Poverty, the Care Package, and improving the Erasmus+ program, the European Commission Executive Vice-President added.

The Chair of the Committee on Labor and Social Policy, Denitsa Sacheva, informed the guests that regardless of the political changes in recent years, social policies in Bulgaria are predictable thanks to European funding, which is why most of them are now included in the Recovery and Sustainability Plan. At the same time, however, a way must be found to finance social services more flexibly so that the rules are not circumvented, she added.

In the field of education, we are also focusing on STEM, vocational training, investing in teacher training and bringing business into the classroom, Denitsa Sacheva said.

The Chair of the Committee on European Affairs and Oversight of European Funds, Dimitar Gerdov, thanked European Commissioner Roxana Mînzatu for the meeting, as it was an important opportunity to exchange views.

Elisaveta Belobradova, Member of Parliament from the Committee on Education and Science, drew attention to the problem of education for children aged 0 to 3 due to a lack of nurses, as medical staff are required to care for children of this age according to standards.  There are not enough places in kindergartens in cities, there is no system for early detection of various deficits in children, and the system needs to be reformed as a whole, as some children drop out of education very early, she added.

Denitsa Simeonova from the Committee on European Affairs and Oversight of European Funds noted that key bills in the social and health sectors depend on the Recovery and Resilience Plan and that progress on anti-corruption legislation must therefore be closely monitored.

Bulgaria is an important area for my portfolio, and I want to be your partner, European Commission Executive Vice-President Roxana Mînzatu summarized.