site.btaUPDATED Statements at BTA Conference on Europe in the Balkans: Common Future Project

On Wednesday, the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA) launched its new project Europe in the Balkans: Common Future, promoting European cohesion policies in Bulgaria and the Balkans.

At the event, Serbia's Ambassador Zeljko Jovic stressed the importance of the connections between people.  He said that despite the common geography and common destiny for many years in the past, the Balkan countries don't know each other very well, there are still a lot of prejudices.

He stressed that the Balkan countries need to see what they can change, and that, despite the importance of studying history, “trying to convince each other of our own position” is a waste of time. If the peoples from the different countries try to get to know each other, they would figure things out eventually, Jovic argued.

He expressed his joy about efforts in this direction and is optimistic that the Balkan countries will strengthen their relations.

In his speech, Jovic stressed the need to develop transport between the Balkan countries. He said that transport links provide an opportunity for exploration. “I am very glad that the centre of Sofia and Belgrade are now three and a half hours away, Jovic noted. We have built over 400 km of highways and expressways in Serbia in the last 10 years. We are currently building the Nis-Budapest high-speed rail line. Just think what it will mean for the whole region if we also connect Sofia-Nis-Budapest,” he explained, adding that this is not far off.

The development of the economy also contributes to the stability of the countries and good living conditions, Jovic said.

The Serbian Ambassador said that the Balkan countries have demographic problems, therefore the countries should take more care of securing young people, so that they stay in the region.

Bulgaria's Ambassador to North Macedonia Angel Angelov said in his speech that his country cannot prosper if it is not sufficiently connected with all its neighbouring countries.

According to Angelov, the Sofia-Skopje railway is a stark example of the lack of sufficient connectivity in the Balkans. The very idea of its construction dates back to the first National Assembly after the [Bulgaria's] Liberation [from Ottoman rule]. In his words, if cohesion funds are easier to absorb for projects between EU member states, it is much harder to find funds for connectivity with the Western Balkan countries.

"In this regard, in 2018, during our EU presidency, the Western Balkans were a top priority. We managed to turn the spotlight of Brussels on the problems of the Western Balkans. I am not very convinced that we've managed to keep it,  but we will continue our attempts to do so," Angelov said. 

He went back to 2018, when during the Berlin process Bulgaria insisted and found funds to start the construction of the Sofia-Skopje railway. [The Berlin process was set up in 2014 as a platform for high-level cooperation between high official representatives of the Western Balkan Six (WB6) and their peers in Berlin Process host countries. The Process also involves the EU institutions, international financial institutions and the region’s civil society, youth and businesses.].

The first lot is fully financed by cohesion funds. The second and the third are with low-interest loans from the European Investment Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

"On our side of the border, the modernisation of the railway is set out in the multiannual financial framework. So without cohesion funds, connectivity and cohesion are impossible, which is why the example of the railway is so important," Angelov concluded.

"Our common future is built on talent, which the Balkans must finally start actively attracting," Deputy Minister of Regional Development and Public Works Angelina Todorova-Boneva, said during the opening conference.

"Our own young people, European young people, global youth should become interested in this wonderful land," Boneva added.

"We have learned over the years that we need two approaches built into our cross-border programmes. One approach is that of strategic projects. There is always a need for investment in strategic projects of bilateral or trilateral importance. The second pillar is the smaller projects related to education, culture and joint activities. Both elements are built into our new cross-border programmes," Boneva explained.

"What we do not feel in the Balkans is that connectivity is a moving target. While we think connectivity is roads and highways, Europe is already talking about digital, energy, information and satellite connectivity. While we are building our roads and railways, connectivity is already evolving globally in a whole new way and young people know this," the Deputy Minister said.

Ambassador of Bulgaria to Romania, Radko Vlaykov said that he has witnessed what BTA has been doing recently, and that is it is an extremely correct path, a European path, a common responsibility by all Balkan countries to society that would inspire politicians to be a little more active. Ambassador Vlaykov congratulated BTA General Director Kiril Valchev for the example set by his agency.

He  urged for a level of awareness of how mature the societies in these countries are for a common European Balkans. The diplomat referred to the words of the Serbian Ambassador and focused more specifically on the word "prejudice", arguing that until these prejudices cease to be a driving motive, there cannot be a common European Balkans.

Vlaykov said that if there was a European vision in each of the Balkan societies, many things would have already been resolved. He noted that there are countries that are not yet part of the European family, but that being a part of a family means to  follow the rules. He gave Bulgaria and Romania as an example, as the two countries acted as potential members during the entire period of their EU accession process, supporting a common foreign and security policy. The Ambassador stressed that there cannot be a country in which a foreign minister declares "why should we be part of the common foreign policy and security policy in the EU, since we are not yet members ".

Vlaykov also urged people to think about the role of the information agencies, which could be much greater precisely in seeing where the European base is, and about the dynamics of this future.

He noted that he was encouraged by the initiative of Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov, together with the Prime Ministers of Greece and Romania, to develop the corridor through Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, with a continuation to Moldova and Ukraine.

Vlaykov noted that this country did something exceptional during the presidency of the Council of the EU in 2018 – it put the topic of European integration in the Balkans at the forefront. Unfortunately, since then, some countries, instead of taking advantage of this opportunity, have significantly reduced the pace of reforms and changes mandatory for membership, the diplomat commented. Bilateral issues brought them to the fore, he added. 

The Parliamentary Environment and Water Committee Chair, Stanislav Anastassov, described BTA's initiative for the use of electric vehicles as progressive. 

He said the step by the Agency is a very good example of how a state institution, a leader in information services, can also be a leader in new technologies, adding that BTA's example can be followed by other institutions as well. 

In the context of energy independence, which is a matter of national sovereignty, Bulgaria should invest in every way possible in technology, in extracting energy that comes from local sources. Everything should be produced here - whether from solar, wind or sun and nuclear energy, he said

"Hopefully we will also become part of the supply chains for components of some of these new technologies that are coming," Anastassov added.