The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) was established in 1961 to promote policies for sustainable economic development, raise living standards and maintain financial stability. It is the successor to the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation, established to manage US and Canadian financial aid (the so-called Marshall Plan) for the reconstruction of Europe after World War II.
Today, the OECD is an established international organisation with a leading role in developing and implementing the highest standards in all key areas such as governance, tax policy, transport infrastructure, agriculture, education, digital economy and innovation, climate, etc.
The OECD has 38 member states, including the most advanced economies in Europe, North America, South America and Asia.
In order to prepare Bulgaria for the start of negotiations for OECD membership, a special permanent Inter-ministerial Coordination Mechanism (ICM) for Bulgaria's accession to the OECD was established by Decision No.789 of the Council of Ministers of 20 December 2017, as amended and supplemented by Decision 444 of the Council of Ministers of 11 June 2021. The Inter-Ministerial Coordination Mechanism is chaired by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and includes representatives of the ministries and departments involved in cooperation with the OECD.
The measures for the preparation of our country are included in three-year Roadmaps containing concrete actions on the accession to the OECD. Download the current Roadmap for the 2021-2023 period. It incorporates the Action Plan developed in cooperation with the OECD Secretariat in 2019 - a structured working document outlining the key measures in 21 areas needed to achieve OECD standards and meet the criteria for membership of the Organisation in line with the requirements in the Framework for the Assessment of Potential OECD Members.
In recent years, in implementation of the Action Plan and the three-year National Roadmap, Bulgaria has joined a number of OECD legal instruments and has stepped up its participation in an increasing number of OECD committees and working groups, with Bulgaria's efforts focused on maintaining an active position and bringing added value to their work.
Currently, Bulgaria participates as a member/associate member in the operation of 13 working bodies, in 6 other bodies it has the status of participant, and in 19 others it is a guest/observer. See more about Bulgaria's participation in the various OECD working formats.
The main legal act in the Republic of Bulgaria which regulates the issue of fraudulent and misleading cross-border commercial practices is the Consumer Protection Act.
The new legal framework adopted in Regulation (EU) 2017/2394 for the implementation of administrative cooperation between the authorities of the EU Member States responsible for the enforcement of consumer protection legislation has been transposed into the national legislation of Bulgaria with the creation of a new chapter in the Consumer Protection Act.
This legal framework aims at more effective and coordinated enforcement by the competent authorities of EU Member States in cases of cross-border trade and infringements of the legislation covered by the Regulation in more than one EU Member State by the same trader.
The main legal act in the Republic of Bulgaria that regulates the issue of unsolicited commercial communication (spam) is the Electronic Commerce Act.
The legal protection against spam can be divided into the protection carried out in respect of legal entities and that carried out in respect of natural persons.
The CCP is relevant to the following OECD Committees:
- Committee on Consumer Policy - https://oecdgroups.oecd.org/Bodies/ShowBodyView.aspx?BodyID=1677&Lang=en
- Committee on Financial Markets - https://www.oecd.org/daf/fin/financial-markets/oecd-committee-on-financial-markets.htm
- Information on the OECD Consumer Policy - https://www.oecd.org/sti/consumer/
More information on the process of Bulgaria's accession to the OECD and the benefits of membership can be found on the official website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the following link: https://www.mfa.bg/bg/bg-oecd