site.btaBulgarian PM Speaks at Cohesion Summit in Prague

November 5 (BTA) - Addressing a high-level meeting
 of the Friends of Cohesion Group in Prague on Tuesday,
Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov said that the EU
ambitions of being a global leader should be backed by
sufficient funding. This means adequate financing for the
Cohesion Policy and the Common Agricultural Policy which show
best the results of EU investments.

In Prague, Borissov is accompanied by Finance Minister Vladislav
 Goranov.

Borissov also told the participants in the meeting that the EU
Cohesion Policy and the Common Agricultural Policy have proved
added value and their results are visible and tangible for the
European citizens.

"It is important to allocate enough financing for the Cohesion
Policy which should be distributed fairly so that disparities
between the regions are overcome" underscored Borissov. He added
 that special attention should be paid to EU's poorest regions.
"Such regions where GDP is less than half of the EU average
exist not only in Bulgaria, and I think that they should be
backed for the sake of the common interest," the Bulgarian Prime
 Minister said.

Borissov added that rules for the Cohesion Policy and the Common
 Agricultural Policy should not carry additional administrative
and financial burden for national budgets which pose a risk to
the programme's implementation and investments particularly in
less developed regions.

Borissov said that the leaders of the Group should focus their
efforts in several areas. "We should oppose the division of net
recipients and net donors as all European citizens benefit from
both policies." He also underscored that there shouldn't be a
division between old and new priorities in the EU. "Traditional
policies, science, innovations, migration, security and climate
change are all important for us. That's why we call for an
ambitious EU budget, which will allow us to preserve what has
been achieved so far and meet the many challenges," said
Borissov.  

According to the Bulgarian Prime Minister, the Friends of
Cohesion Group should not simply try to rebalance calls for cuts
 to the EU budget but play an active role in promoting a
reliable EU budget to the benefit of all EU citizens.
 
Later in the day, the participants in the high-level meeting
adopted a joint declaration saying that the Cohesion Policy is a
 key investment instrument of the EU supporting the actual
cohesion of regions and Member States, as well as the
functioning of the internal market, the increase of growth and
competitiveness, the creation of jobs, and the transition to a
low-carbon economy.

The document notes the importance of keeping the funding of the
Cohesion Policy at the level of the Multiannual Financial
Framework (MFF) for 2014-2020. According to the signatories, the
 significant cuts in the budget envisaged in the draft MFF for
the 2021-2027 period carry the risk of hindering the
implementation of the EU's important goals.

The declaration calls on all EU leaders and institutions to
strive to finalize the negotiations and reach an agreement on a
fair and balanced compromise on the MFF for 2021-2027.

The high-level meeting was organized under the Czech presidency
of the Visegrad Group. The Friends of Cohesion group comprises
17 EU member countries: Slovakia, Hungary, Poland, Lithuania,
Latvia, Estonia, Bulgaria, Romania, Greece, Slovenia, Croatia,
Portugal, Spain, Cyprus, Malta and Italy. They all rally around
the opinion that the Cohesion Policy plays a key role in the EU
budget, abolishes regional disparities and gives added value to
the whole Union which is of benefit to all EU citizens.//

/ДЛ/