On May 25 2008, Bulgarian President Georgi Purvanov met European Commissioner for employment, social affairs and equal opportunities Vladimír Špidla, Purvanov's press service said in a statement.

Purvanov stressed the presence of a stable macroeconomic framework and share of foreign investments in Bulgaria. He agreed on the importance of long-term decisions regarding the development of human resources and confirmed the good partnership between state institutions and representatives of the business in the search of opportunities to solve a number of social issues.

Purvanov noted the focus of social-economic policy in recent years is shifting more and more towards the investment in and encouragement of the development of human capital.

"We have accepted the criticism aimed at the problems with the homes for socially disadvantaged children and have adopted measures to solve them," Purvanov said, referring to a BBC documentary on the Mogilino home that has brought the issue into public limelight.

In the past two years, Bulgaria has made progress towards stability, Špidla said. "We see the efforts that you have been making as far as these homes are concerned and I fully approve of them," he added.

The two discussed topics related to the European employment and social policy as well as problems currently on Bulgaria's agenda.

Špidla arrived in Sofia for the opening of a regional summit conference on the development of human resources. The conference, held on May 25, together with the Social Policy Week that opened on May 26 and will continue until May 30, are organised by the Bulgarian Labour and Social Policy Ministry and the European Commission.