Bulgaria May Become Full Member of the OECD by End of This Year or Early 2026

Bulgaria could become a full member of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) by the end of this year or early next year. This became clear after today,April 24, following the successful conclusion of negotiations on two major accession topics—Agriculture and Fisheries—by Agriculture Minister, Georgi Tahov, and his team at the OECD headquarters in Paris.

Membership in the OECD, which brings together some of the world's wealthiest nations, is of great significance for Bulgaria. It not only enhances the country’s reputation but also improves opportunities for investment, and access to global educational and economic policy exchange.

Bulgaria was congratulated by member states on the conclusion of negotiations in the agriculture and fisheries sectors. This has made expectations of completing the remaining accession chapters, including Trade, by the end of 2025 increasingly realistic.

Marion Jansen, Director of the OECD's Directorate for Trade and Agriculture, stated:
“Bulgaria has completed the review process of its agricultural policies and practices by the Committee on Agriculture, marking an important step forward in the country’s overall accession process to the OECD.”

Thus, three years after the country formally started the OECD accession process, more than two-thirds of the negotiations on various topics have been completed. Among them, agriculture and fisheries are the most extensive, said Agriculture and Food Minister Georgi Tahov.

Georgi Tahov, Minister of Agriculture and Food:
“Our ambition is to close all the chapters by the end of this year and to become a full OECD member no later than early 2026. This is not only a success for the agriculture sector—it is a significant institutional and political achievement for Bulgaria.”

By joining the organisation, Bulgaria will have access to data, useful practices in education, health and economics from all over the world. Negotiations on remaining areas, including trade, are set to resume in October.

Along with Bulgaria, Romania and Croatia are also applying to join the club of developed economies, which currently has 38 member countries. Other candidates include Brazil, Argentina, and Thailand.