Bilateral cooperation between the German and Bulgarian labour and social affairs ministries has been close since back in 1991. The German Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs has valued this cooperation from its very beginning. There is a distance of roughly 1,600 km between Sofia and Berlin. Nevertheless, the two EU members Germany and Bulgaria are bound together by questions and challenges related to the free movement of workers in the European Union. What rights do individuals have when working in other EU countries? Where do they get help in order to defend their rights? How can we address the persisting problem of human trafficking?
In order to deepen cooperation between Germany and Bulgaria, State Secretary Dr. Rolf Schmachtenberg and his Bulgarian counterpart Deputy Minister Natalia Efremova signed a joint work programme for the period 2023/2024 on 13 March 2023.
The goal of this cooperation is the scaling-up of early counselling for mobile workers, fighting human trafficking and continued strengthening of social dialogue. An event in early April at the beginning of the agricultural harvesting season will kick-off the renewed bilateral cooperation with information on the existing labour and social protection rules.