A survey by the German-Bulgarian Chamber of Industry and Commerce shows that corruption, crime and lack of transparency in public procurement procedures are the major problems businesses in Bulgaria face, BNR reporter Nataliya Ganchovska informed. The poll on business environment in this country has been conducted for the 15th year among the members of the chamber. 97% of the respondents indicate that they would choose to invest in Bulgaria again, 41% consider this country an attractive place for investments. Almost half of the participants in the survey (48%) rate the condition of their company as good.

30% of the polled companies plan to hire new employees, while 13% will most likely part with some of their staff. Half of the companies have difficulty finding skilled workers. According to the business, it was necessary to introduce elements of the system of dual vocational training, which exists in Germany.

87% of the companies assess positively Bulgaria's membership in the EU. 67% of respondents want the introduction of the euro to take place, while 18% don’t.

In terms of infrastructure, this country ranks 10th among 16 countries in Central and Eastern Europe.

Once again, the biggest dissatisfaction of companies is caused by unsuccessful fight against corruption and crime - 81% of respondents. 70% are very dissatisfied or dissatisfied over lack of transparency in public procurement procedures.

Answering the question "Which consequences of the coronavirus pandemic have had the greatest impact on your company?", 69% of respondents point out travel restrictions and 47% - the cancellation of trade exhibitions and fairs. 61% of the participants in the survey expect the Bulgarian economy to recover in 2022 and the turnover of their companies to return to levels that existed before the pandemic.

When it comes to the measures taken by the government to mitigate the economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic, just 15% are satisfied and 25% are dissatisfied.

Germany is the most important foreign market for Bulgarian products. According to the data of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, trade between Bulgaria and Germany in 2020 reached 8.207 billion euros, which is a decline of 3.6% in comparison to 2019, BGNES has reported.