site.btaEconomic and Social Council Urges for Passage of Bill on Development of Mountainous, Semi-mountainous Areas

Sofia, July 16 (BTA) - The Economic and Social Council (ESC) holds that a special bill on mountainous and semi-mountainous areas in Bulgaria is needed to ensure the successful development of such regions and to make up for the delay in these efforts. ESC also argues that a programme with target resources should be elaborated to improve the transport connections of mountainous villages. Also, municipal programmes should be put in place to attract young people and experts in such areas.

ESC has drafted a position paper on the problems and opportunities for development of the mountainous and semi-mountainous areas. Bulgaria has 123 mountainous and semi-mountainous municipalities which cover 42.5 per cent of its territory. Nearly 21 per cent of the population lives in 2,555 populated settlements in mountainous and semi-mountainous regions. ESC is concerned that these areas have worse than elsewhere depopulation, economic underdevelopment, poor infrastructure, and limited access to high-quality public services, especially in healthcare, education and culture.

ESC argues that an integrated strategy for sustainable development of these areas should be elaborated, as well as having a quality standard for mountain products, an environment that supports family businesses and entrepreneurship, and better allocation of budget resources to take into account the higher cost of service provision in such municipalities.