Minister of Innovation: IT Sector Is a Natural Partner of the State, but Competition Must Be Encouraged

The Bulgarian IT sector is a natural partner of the state in the process of digital transformation, but the country's digitalisation goals cannot be achieved by 2030 without close cooperation between government and business. This was stated by Minister of Innovation and Digital Transformation Ivan Vasilev following the Council of Ministers meeting.

"I believe that the greater the competition, the better and higher-quality services Bulgarian citizens will receive for the billions that we all pay as taxpayers," the minister said.

His remarks came a day after several employers' organisations and ICT industry associations published an open letter addressed to the Prime Minister. Vasilev said that the Ministry of Innovation and Digital Transformation remains open to dialogue with the technology sector, but stressed that the letter was prompted by two ministerial decisions that will not be reversed – ensuring full traceability of every item of government software expenditure and tightening the rules governing access to citizens' sensitive data.

According to Vasilev, claims that the government is “closing the market to Bulgarian ICT companies” are not supported by the official figures for the 2020–2025 period.

"Between 2020 and 2025, more than €1.093 billion was spent on the development of ICT services and e-governance. Of that €1.093 billion, €777 million was awarded directly to the market, outside the system integration framework, where the companies that signed the letter operate. Activities related to system integration accounted for €315 million, a significant share of which also returned to the private sector, while companies that are members of one of the associations received an additional €61 million through those contracts."

Vasilev also referred to public procurement data showing that individual companies had been awarded contracts worth tens and hundreds of millions of euros, some of which had been concluded without competition and with only a single bidder.

According to the minister, the government will work to promote greater competition and limit access to public funds being concentrated among "a handful of companies closely linked to the previous administration".