The NSI hosted a two-day visit from the European Commission on waste statistics

On 7 and 8 October 2025, the National Statistical Institute (NSI) hosted representatives of the European Commission for a working visit on waste statistics in Bulgaria. The aim of the visit was to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the data collection and processing methods used for waste statistics reporting.

The European Commission team included representatives from Directorates-General Eurostat and Budget, as well as experts in data quality assessment. Eurostat is responsible for data quality management, and the Commission provides detailed reports to the European Parliament and the Council, with a specific focus on quality assessment and the burden of reporting on businesses, in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 2150/2002 on waste statistics.

On behalf of the NSI, the visit was attended by Svilen Kolev, PhD, Deputy President, Petar Kamenov, Director of the Macroeconomic Statistics Directorate, and experts from the Environmental and Energy Accounts Department headed by Gergana Cheshmedjieva, PhD. Representatives of the Executive Environment Agency, led by Deputy Executive Director Vesselina Roshleva, and experts from the Ministry of Environment and Water, led by the director of Waste Management and Soil Protection Directorate Eleonora Yurukova, also participated.

During the visit, the processes of data production and reporting to the European Commission, in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 2150/2002 on waste statistics and Directive 2008/98/EC on waste and in accordance with the competences of national institutions, were discussed, including methodological issues, good practices and achieved results. Particular attention was paid to the challenges and difficulties, as well as to future actions to improve the quality of information.