March 7 (SeeNews) - Bulgaria will need to continue its efforts towards reforming the country's insolvency framework, the European Commission said on Wednesday.
"Despite new legislation on business restructuring, some elements of a functioning framework are still missing," the European Commission said in the country-specific recommendations for Bulgaria, part of the European Semester Winter Package.
"In particular, Bulgaria lacks rules for granting a second chance to consumers and entrepreneurs in a reasonable timeframe following a bankruptcy, and an effectiveness analysis of existing and new procedures," the Commission said.
In addition, the Commission outlined several other key challenges for Bulgaria, such as vulnerabilities within the financial sector, high private debt, high levels of poverty and income inequality and underdeveloped active labour market policies.
State-owned companies are also underlined as a source of economic and fiscal risks, as their corporate governance structures are rarely subject to professional management.
Next, the European Commission will hold bilateral meetings with member states regarding their respective reports.