Public-Private Partnership for Critical Industrial Infrastructure Protection: Basic Issues and the Case of Bulgaria

Abstract

The research subject of this article is the possible role of the public-private partnership (PPP) in the protection of critical industrial infrastructure. The following basic issues are discussed here - the essence of the industrial critical infrastructure, justification of the necessity to apply PP partnerships in the search for variants of its protection, and finally, some basic problematic areas when realizing such an approach are outlined. The thesis has been raised that the protection of the critical industrial infrastructure in Bulgaria cannot currently be realized if the proper modern practices and mechanisms are not implemented. Along with that, it continues not to be taking into account the limitations of the state in a market environment to have a direct impact on the economic entities, even when dealing with security issues. The Critical industrial infrastructure protection is one particular aspect of guaranteeing the security of the Bulgarian citizens and territory. As such, its importance will be increasing in the future, on the one hand because of the dynamic changes in the security environment, and on the other, because of the radically changed ownership structure in Bulgaria. It seems to us, that the different aspects and dimensions of the problem affected in the article, over time will objectively become a factor that cannot be bypassed, and which will strongly affect the shaping of a modern Bulgarian industrial policy - if, of course, there is a vision and a will for ensuring the long-term industrial capacity of Bulgaria.