Today, 25 January 2021, Zornitsa Roussinova - President of the Economic and Social Council (ESC), opened the first plenary session of the new Economic and Social Council. The council's four-year mandate begins on 25 January. Bulgaria faces economic and social challenges, but the Economic and Social Council will contribute at national and European levels to facilitate economic recovery, the creation of jobs, increasing people's incomes, said at the opening of the session ESC President Zornitsa Roussinova.

“The digitalization of the Bulgarian economy and Bulgarian companies, as well as the digital skills not only of the working people, but also of all groups in the society, will be the key topics in the future work of the Economic and Social Council (ESC)”, said Zornitsa Roussinova, the newly elected President by the National Assembly. She participated in a World Bank webinar dedicated to the recently published World Bank report “Europe 4.0: Addressing the Digital Dilemma”. “We are talking about digital transformation now, but soon we will have to talk about digital cohesion”, the ESC President stated.

The National Assembly elected Zornitsa Rusinova as President of the Economic and Social Council /ESC/. Mrs. Rusinova served as Minister and Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Policy and will succeed Prof. Lalko Dulevski, who has been leading ESC for more than 17 years since its establishment. The Economic and Social Council is the institution of organised civil society, which since 2003 expresses through its acts and organised consultations the positions of the organised civil society on strategic problems of the economic and social development of the country and the European Union.

On 15th June 2020, the ESC held a Plenary Session and adopted a resolution on the "Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Central Bank, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions - Economic Governance Review". With this act the ESC joined the public debate procedure, which the European Commission launched and should end on 30th June. The adopted resolution was sent to all European and national stakeholders.

At the Plenary Session held on 22th June, the Economic and Social Council (ESC) adopted an opinion on the "Main Priorities in the Draft EU Strategic Framework on Occupational Safety and Health - 2021-2027".

The Economic and Social Council /ESC/ adopted an analysis “The Problems of Performing and Receiving Payment for Night Work in Bulgaria”. The purpose of the act is to draw attention of the institutions to the specifics of the night work in our country related to the nature of this type of work, as well as to some consequences and risks to the health of workers. Night work payment is also a major focus of the analysis.

By decision of the President's Board of the Economic and Social Council (ESC), an opinion is being developed on the topic “Digital Transformation in Bulgaria - Challenges and Opportunities in the Context of the Digital Future of Europe. The rapporteurs on the opinion are Plamen Dimitrov and Radosvet Radev, who represent the groups of trade unions and employers. The two co-rapporteurs submitted for discussion the draft opinion prepared at a joint meeting of the three commissions in ESC: the Labour, Income, Living Standards and Industrial Relations Commission; the Social Policy Commission and the Economic Policy Commission.

The Economic and Social Council (ESC) included in its Action Plan the development of an opinion on "Main Priorities in the Draft EU Strategic Framework on Occupational Safety and Health - 2021-2027".

The President Board of the ESC decided to elaborate a resolution on the topic "Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Central Bank, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions - Economic Governance Review".

The Economic and Social Council of the Republic of Bulgaria included in its Action Plan for 2020 the elaboration of an analysis on the topic "The problems of performing and receiving payment for night work in Bulgaria".

"Digital Transformation in Bulgaria - Challenges and Opportunities in the Context of Europe's Digital Future" is the opinion that ESC adopted at its most recent plenary session. It examines the impact of the digitisation process on key areas of public life and its importance for developing the economic potential of Bulgaria and improving the quality of life of the citizens, summed up the two co-rapporteurs Plamen Dimitrov and Radosvet Radev.