Bulgarian will need at least 15 years and hard work to see the emergence of a middle class, National Crafts Chamber head Rangel Cholakov said.

Cholakov took part in the seventh annual meeting of the Advisory Board of the Bureau for Supporting the Middle Class in the Balkans, Bulgarian news agency BTA said.

Even though Bulgaria is an EU member, it still lacks a middle class comparable with EU standards, he said.

German ambassador Michael Geier said that the economic power and the future of Bulgaria depended on its middle class.

According to Georgi Shivarov, deputy chief of the Bulgarian Industrial Association, foreign investors should be encouraged to contract local subcontractors.