Table of Contents
___________________________________________________
This document has been made available in electronic
format by the International Co-operative Alliance ICA
-----------------------------------------------------
November 1995
ICA Studies and Reports
Co-operatives in Eastern & Central Europe
Bulgaria
by Professor Dinonysos Mavrogiannis
Table of Contents
1 Main Characteristics 3
1.1 Brief history (1890-1944) 4
1.1.1 Rural credit co-operatives 4
1.1.2 Urban credit co-operatives (popular banks) 5
1.1.3 Consumer co-operatives 5
1.1.4 Producers' and workers' co-operatives 7
1.1.5 Forestry co-operatives 7
1.1.6 Agricultural production co-operatives 7
1.2 Co-operatives in the centrally-planned
economy (1946-1989) 11
1.2.1 Co-operative development 12
1.2.1.1 Consumer co-operatives 12
1.2.1.2 Agricultural production co-operatives
(collective farms) 14
1.2.1.3 Handicraft and workers' co-operatives 15
1.2.2 Assessment of the situation 17
2 Transition to the Market Economy
(1989-1993) 20
2.1 Privatisation policy 20
2.2 Co-operatives under restructuring and
privatisation 28
2.2.1 Spontaneous restructuring 29
2.2.2 Co-operative policy and legislation 32
3 Current Developments 40
3.1 Intensification of co-operative restructuring 40
3.1.1 Co-operative property 40
3.1.2 Membership relations 44
3.1.3 Organisational changes and developmental
trends 48
3.1.3.1 Consumer co-operatives 48
3.1.3.2 Workers' production co-operatives 52
3.2 Emergence of new co-operative institutions 55
3.2.1 Agricultural co-operatives of primary farmers 55
3.2.2 The Central Co-operative Bank 60
3.2.3 Department of Co-operative Management
and Business 62
4 Conclusion 64
4.1 Main highlights 65
4.2 Expectations 70
4.3 Perspectives of further co-operative
development 71
Annexes
Annex 1 Contact organisations 76
Annex 2 The Main Laws and Decrees Concerning
Co-operatives 79
Annex 3 Co-operative Law of 1991 and amendments 81
Annex 4 Ordinance 192 of 1st October 1991 of the
Council of Ministers 111
Annex 5 Bibliography 115
