Austria is among the leading investors in Bulgaria with 4.6 billion euros of investments by 350 Austrian companies. Over 20,000 Bulgarians work in Austrian companies. The economic and political situation in Bulgaria is "encouraging" - this is how the Austrian companies operating in this country assessed the current situation.

According to them, the main problems are the huge state bureaucracy, the shortage of qualified staff, low productivity and corruption. The high prices of energy and raw materials are also worrying. One third of the companies expect the economic climate to improve and half believe that the economic environment will remain unchanged, which given the current situation can be interpreted as a good sign.

This became clear at an event in Sofia, organized by the Trade Representation of Austria, which was attended by Andrea Wicke, Ambassador of the Republic of Austria to Bulgaria. The data are based on an annual survey on the economic environment and the investment climate, which is traditionally conducted among Austrian companies in Bulgaria.