Building Social Dialogue Institutions in Bulgaria: Between EU Conditionality and Domestic Social Actors

The aim of this article is to examine the evolution of institutions of social dialogue and actors’ perceptions in Bulgaria within the context of the process of Europeanization. The research question addressed by the paper is how and under what external and internal conditions the institutions of social dialogue in Bulgaria have been built and have evolved over time. The methodology is based on previous academic research in this field, official national and EU documents, newspapers and semi-structured interviews with representatives from trade unions and employers’ organisations as well as foreign experts. The overall conclusions comprise two interrelated points. First of all, EU conditionality became the main source of change in the area of social dialogue at the national level through technical assistance and the dissemination of ideas and “best practices”. However, it didn’t have the same impact in respect of negotiations at sectoral/branch and local levels. Secondly, its role was limited to the time of enlargement negotiations, and above all the effects of its influence were strongly dependent on the commitment of internal actors. These findings therefore support the idea of an impact of the EU mediated primarily by internal actors. However, it is necessary to add a further consideration regarding the intrinsic reasons for the limited and temporary influence of the EU. Concerning the notion of a European social model, the development of integration in this respect can in fact be considered as being only embryonic at the present moment. This becomes even more evident when we look at the secondary role played by those issues during accession. Therefore, if it is possible to draw conclusions about the more general process of Europeanization, these inevitably comprise recognising the causal link between the delay of European integration in the field of social dialogue, and the subsequently limited ability of the EU to play a role in candidate countries and even Member States.