site.bta"Bulgaria Has to Find EU Allies to Prevent Change of EU Funds Philosophy" - Vice President

"Bulgaria Has to Find EU Allies to Prevent Change of EU Funds Philosophy" - Vice President

Souhindol, North Central Bulgaria, February 14 (BTA) - "Bulgaria has to seek allies among other Member States so that the philosophy of EU funds will not change," Bulgarian Vice President Iliana Iotova said here on Tuesday.

"The State is indebted to municipalities such as Souhindol and should back the local authorities by all means in order to contribute to their development," Iotova said.

Iotova, who is a former MEP, commented that there is a very unpleasant negative trend of replacing the grant contributions through EU funds, intended to approximate the living standards of people in the EU, by the so-called Juncker Plan, which relies more on investments, profit and private projects.

"If this trend persists, there will be no money for the construction of the Hemus Motorway," she predicted. "Negotiations for the next programming period after 2020 will begin this year," she recalled. "Just as any other EU Member State, Bulgaria will have to seek funds and the construction of the motorway should be prioritized," she said.