The OECD Investment Committee is responsible for the OECD's liberalisation tools in the field of international investment and services. It interprets and implements the 1976 Declaration and Decisions on International Investment and Multinational Enterprises and is responsible for the liberalisation of capital movements and current operations. The lead institution of the Investment Committee is the Ministry of Innovation and Growth.

The Committee promotes the liberalisation of policies with regard to the international movement of capital, international direct investment and multinational enterprises and trade in services, promotes international cooperation in these areas and promotes a better understanding of the policy issues at stake.  In pursuit of these objectives, the Committee should:

• Provide a forum for discussion of current issues among politicians and administrations from OECD and non-OECD countries;
• Monitor compliance with the ‘rules of the game’ set out in the OECD Liberalisation Codes and the Declaration and Decisions on International Investment and Multinationals, and provide a forum for the resolution of disputes under these instruments; and prepare, where necessary, ‘clarification’ statements or interpretation of the legal instruments for which it is responsible, including the Guidelines for Multinationals;
• Carry out country-by-country or horizontal ‘peer reviews’ of the policies related to the instruments and make recommendations to promote liberalisation;
• Assess whether candidates for OECD membership are willing and able to fulfil the obligations of OECD legal instruments;
• Develop new rules when necessary and appropriate;
• Prepare a critical analysis of trends in investment flows and a wide range of policy issues for consideration by policymakers and, where appropriate, for publication to a wider audience.

The Investment Committee was created in April 2004 following the merger of the Committee on International Investments and Multinational Enterprises (CIME) and the Committee on Capital Movement and Invisible Transactions (CMIT).

OECD liberalisation codes

The Codes for the Liberalisation of the Movement of Capital and Current Operations (the Codes) are multilaterally supported legal instruments of the OECD that promote the freedom of the cross-border movement of capital and financial services while providing flexibility to address situations of economic and financial instability. The Codes have the legal status of an OECD Council Decision that is binding on all member states of the organisation. They provide a framework for notification, verification and consultation through which to monitor and effectively enforce their provisions.

The free movement of capital, investment and services across national borders is an engine for economic growth, employment and development. It promotes competition and economic efficiency to the benefit of consumers and provides financial resources and technological innovation to companies. It benefits both the host country and the country of origin, developed and developing countries. Achieving free movement of these flows requires liberalisation, which is usually achieved gradually, and which must take into account each country's economic and financial situation and its stage of development.

Based on a process of cooperation and consultation, the Codes help to create an environment in which all Member States, including less developed countries and those experiencing temporary economic difficulties, follow their national policies, while gradually eliminating unnecessary barriers to the free movement of capital and services.

The Codes set out commitments for all acceding countries in three main policy areas:

• Foreign direct investment, including general and sectoral policies;
• Other capital movements, both long-term capital movements (List A items) and short-term capital movements (List B items);
• Cross-border trade in services, including banking, insurance and other financial services.

Bulgaria’s accession to the Codes on the Liberalisation of Capital Movements and Current Invisible Operations (“the Codes”) is part of the path to full membership of our country in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, as they are a binding legal instrument of the OECD.

The Ministry of Finance is a leading institution in the process of accession of the Republic of Bulgaria to the Codes for the liberalisation of capital movements and current invisible operations and participates in the meetings of the OECD Advanced Task Force on the Codes since 2018.