| SE strategy / action plan 1.2.1 S1100S2100S3100S4100S533 Criteria and evidence- S1 · Status: 100 (adopted and in force on 31 Dec 2025)
Under the 2018 Act, the Council of Ministers adopts two-year Social Economy Action Plans; the plan for 2024-2025 followed the 2022-2023 plan, both under the National Concept for Social Economy (2012): 'adopted and in force on 31 Dec 2025'. · source 1 - S2 · Dedication: 100 (dedicated national SE strategy or action plan)
A national action plan dedicated to the social and solidarity economy: 'dedicated national SE strategy or action plan (adopted)'. · source 1 - S3 · Operational content: 100 (measures with responsible bodies, quantified targets and a budget)
The action plans list measures with responsible institutions, deadlines, indicators and the amount and source of financing per measure: 'measures with responsible bodies, quantified targets and a budget'. Medium because the 2024-2025 plan itself was not opened. · source 1 - S4 · Monitoring: 100 (progress or evaluation report published in 2021–2025)
The MLSP social-economy portal publishes 'Отчет за 2024 г. План за действие по социална икономика 2024-2025 г.' (uploaded March 2025), a progress report on the plan; the plan itself sets baseline and target indicators per activity: 'progress or evaluation report published in the period'. The report was found in search results but could not be opened (the portal refuses automated access), hence medium. · source 1 - S5 · Participation of SE organisations: 33 (public consultation only, or a general statement that stakeholders took part)
The 2024-2025 Action Plan (Council of Ministers annex) says only that it was prepared in coordination with the interdepartmental working group attached to the Minister of Labour and Social Policy, without listing members; SE organisations (НС на ТПК, ЦКС, НАСОР) appear only as partners for individual measures, and no opened source names them as members of a drafting or monitoring body: 'a general statement that stakeholders took part'. · source 1
| 86.7 |
| Institutional structure & dialogue 1.2.2 I167I2100I367I467 Criteria and evidence- I1 · Lead responsibility: 67 (a ministry named responsible in a law, decree, adopted strategy or its statutory functions, within a broader unit)
The Ministry of Labour and Social Policy is the responsible ministry (implementation of the 2018 SSE Act lies with the MLSP; it leads nearly all measures of the 2024-2025 Action Plan, financed from its budget programme 'Насърчаване, развитие и мониторинг на социалната икономика и корпоративната социална отговорност'); no opened source documents a dedicated SE directorate or unit (the MLSP operational-plan report to 31 Dec 2025 assigns its social-economy section to no directorate): 'a ministry named as responsible in a law ... within a broader unit'. 100 would need a documented dedicated unit. · source 1 - I2 · Breadth of mandate: 100 (the social economy / SE broadly)
The Act on Enterprises of the Social and Solidarity Economy (2018) covers cooperatives, NGOs and companies meeting SSE criteria: 'the social economy / SE broadly'. · source 1 - I3 · Consultative body with SE organisations: 67 (set up)
The Working Group on Social Economy at the MLSP, with SE organisations, is set up and prepared the 2024-2025 plan; a dated 2024-2025 meeting record was not seen: 'set up'. · source 1 - I4 · Inter-ministerial coordination: 67 (a standing mechanism, or a one-off coordination body)
An interdepartmental working group on social economy is attached to the Minister of Labour and Social Policy ('междуведомствената работна група към Министъра на труда и социалната политика', Economic and Social Council opinion of 19 Jul 2024) and the 2024-2025 Action Plan was prepared in coordination with it; no dated 2024-2025 meeting record was found: 'a standing mechanism in place'. · source 1
| 75.0 |
| Social clauses in public procurement 2.3.2 P167P233P367P467 Criteria and evidence- P1 · Legal basis: 67 (contracts reservable for a subset (sheltered workshops, WISE, disadvantaged workers; Directive 2014/24 Art. 20) or preferences for cooperatives/SMEs that include SE)
Public Procurement Act Art. 12 ('Запазени обществени поръчки') reserves contracts for specialised enterprises or cooperatives of people with disabilities and operators whose main aim is the social and professional integration of people with disabilities or disadvantaged people (at least 30% of staff); no reservation of health, social or cultural services for public-service-mission organisations (Art. 77) appears in Art. 12 or the general provisions read (consolidated text to SG 67/2024; the copy breaks off at Art. 20): 'contracts reservable for a subset'. · source 1 - P2 · National policy push: 33 (general guidance mentioning social considerations)
The only national push found is the Action Plan 2024-2025 measure of local trainings on 'социално ангажирани поръчки (Social procurement)'; the Economic and Social Council notes that socially responsible procurement 'не са добре познати в България' and recommends information campaigns; no national SRPP plan or guidance was found: 'general guidance mentioning social considerations'. · source 1 - P3 · Evidence of use: 67 (national figures on use for one year)
The Economic and Social Council opinion (19 Jul 2024) reports national figures: 'публикувани 412 „запазени обществени поръчки“' in 2023, 1.6% of all published procurements; a second year of national figures was not found: 'national figures on use for one year'. · source 1 - P4 · Capacity support: 67 (a government training programme or helpdesk documented to cover social clauses or reserved contracts, for contracting authorities or for SEs)
The Action Plan 2024-2025 (Priority 2, Activity 2) foresees MLSP-led local trainings through the regional focal points for traditional and social enterprises on socially engaged procurement, 4 trainings a year with BGN 12,000 a year from the MLSP budget programme; delivery in 2024-2025 was not documented in an opened source: 'a national (government) training programme ... documented to cover social clauses ... for SEs'. · source 1
| 58.3 |
| Official SE definition 3.1 D1100D2100 Criteria and evidence- D1 · Where defined: 100 (in law)
The Act on Enterprises of the Social and Solidarity Economy (2018) defines the social and solidarity economy and social enterprises: 'in law'. · source 1 - D2 · Content (social aim; participatory governance; limits on profit distribution): 100 (all three)
The Act requires a social activity/aim, participation of members or workers in management decisions, and allocation of at least half of profit to social aims (more for class A+): 'all three'. · source 1
| 100.0 |
Legal recognition of SEs 3.2.1 · level 3 of 3Law on Enterprises of the Social and Solidarity Economy (Закон за предприятията на социалната и солидарна икономика), State Gazette No. 91 of 2 Nov 2018 · sources 1 2 3 4 5 6L1100L2100L3100L4100L550 Criteria and evidence- L1 · Adoption stage: 100 (in force)
- L2 · Scope: 100 (general: SE broadly, including a status open to several legal forms or any purpose)
- L3 · Implementing rules: 100 (all adopted, or none required)
Rules for the implementation of the Law, adopted by the Council of Ministers (Art. 10(1); current version on kik-info; draft published 2019). § 7 required the Minister to issue a methodology for assessing social added value within 6 months. Its adoption was not seen directly but is inferred from the class-based register entries. - L4 · Status or register: 100 (operating, entities recognised)
Register of Social Enterprises (Arts 10–11), kept by the Minister of Labour and Social Policy and public on the MLSP site: 34 enterprises in Dec 2021; 193 registered plus 16 under review in Oct 2025 (Chakalova 2026). BTA, 4 Apr 2025: over 170 registered. Certification mark 'Social enterprise product' registered at the Patent Office on 24 Jul 2019 (reg. 106182), given free of charge on entry in the register. - L5 · Bodies foreseen by the law: 50 (not foreseen)
The law creates no council or commission. Implementation lies with the MLSP (§ 6); the MLSP also runs regional SSE centres funded by the RRP.
| 90.0 |
| SE support ecosystem 4.3.6 E1100E2100E333E467E567 Criteria and evidence- E1 · National programme: 100 (national programme dedicated to SE, run by government or a public agency)
The MLSP project П41 'Развитие на социалната икономика' (NRRP) runs regional centres for social economy, which held 'над 684 събития' and provided 6,845 consultations (MLSP operational-plan report, status 31 Dec 2025); the centres sit in regional administrations with MLSP-appointed experts: 'national programme dedicated to SE, run by government' (RRF funding is scored in E3). · source 1 - E2 · Territorial coverage: 100 (all regions (national network of support centres))
Six centres (Plovdiv, Lovech, Varna, Burgas, Blagoevgrad, Gabrovo), one in each of the six planning regions: 'all regions (national network of support centres)'. · source 1 - E3 · Public funding of support: 33 (mainly donor or EU funded)
Funded by the Recovery and Resilience Facility: 'mainly donor or EU funded'. · source 1 - E4 · Continuity: 67 (two to four years)
The Blagoevgrad regional administration announced (28 Feb 2023) that its centre under the MLSP project would start at the end of March 2023 with seven experts; the North-East centre in Varna hosted its second exhibition in Nov 2024 and reported on П41 in Dec 2025; about two and three-quarter years to 31 Dec 2025: 'two to four years'. · source 1 - E5 · Range of services: 67 (two)
Documented services: consultations to social-economy entities (6,845 in total) and market access (exhibition halls and fairs presenting SE products; procurement trainings for SEs through the focal points); the topics of the consultations (registration, finance) are not itemised in the opened sources: 'two'. · source 1
| 73.3 |
| EU funds mobilised for SE 5.1.1 F1100F2100F3100F433 Criteria and evidence- F1 · Programming: 100 (a dedicated SE measure or priority with an allocated budget)
The Recovery Plan includes the investment 'Development of the social economy' (about EUR 12.3m): 'a dedicated SE measure or priority with an allocated budget'. · source 1 - F2 · Calls and instruments: 100 (recurring dedicated calls, or an EU-funded financial instrument for SE)
The Fund of Funds' guarantee with BDB Microfinance backs the 'New Beginning' microfinance programme for start-ups and social enterprises from EU funds: 'an EU-funded financial instrument for SE (fund, guarantee, loan scheme)'. · source 1 - F3 · Channel: 100 (managed by national or regional authorities as part of national SE policy)
The recovery-plan investment is run by the MLSP and the instrument by the state Fund of Funds, within the SE action plans: 'managed by national or regional authorities as part of national SE policy'. · source 1 - F4 · Evidence of take-up: 33 (anecdotal)
The MLSP operational-plan report to 31 Dec 2025 gives activity figures for the RRF-funded centres (events, consultations) and announces the ESF+ procedure BG05SFPR002-1.013 'Насърчаване на социалната икономика на местно и регионално ниво' (BGN 27m, opened 15 Aug 2025) with expected results only; the RRF digitalisation support for SEs was dropped from the NRRP in May 2025; no count of SE beneficiaries or projects was found: 'anecdotal'. · source 1
| 83.3 |
| Dedicated national funding 5.2.2 N1100N233N367N4100 Criteria and evidence- N1 · Dedicated line: 100 (dedicated line for SE broadly)
The Social Protection Fund (a budget unit under the MLSP) runs Component 2 'Подкрепа за осъществяването на социалната дейност и/или за постигане на социалните цели на социални предприятия, вписани в регистъра на социалните предприятия', open to registered social enterprises of any legal form: 'dedicated line for SE broadly'. · source 1 - N2 · Instrument types: 33 (one type)
Component 2 funds project proposals of registered social enterprises ('бюджет за финансиране на проектни предложения'); no loans, guarantees or equity: 'one type'. The report does not state expressly that the funding is non-repayable, hence medium. · source 1 - N3 · Continuity: 67 (two to four years)
Projects were approved under Component 2 in 2023 (4), 2024 (4) and 2025 (6), three consecutive years; the start year is not stated: 'two to four years'. · source 1 - N4 · Execution: 100 (amounts or beneficiary numbers published for 2024 or 2025)
The Fund's 2025 annual report publishes '6 одобрени проекта на социални предприятия', BGN 53,845 and 215 users for 2025: 'amounts or numbers of beneficiaries published for 2024 or 2025'. · source 1
| 75.0 |
