site.btaWe Must Show Bulgaria's Contribution to the European Union, Says BTA Director General

We must show Bulgaria's contribution to the European Union, instead of only showing the contribution of European funds to Bulgaria, said BTA Director General Kiril Valchev in his opening speech at the regional conference "Europe in the Balkans: A Common Future" in the National Press Club of BTA in Varna on Wednesday.

According to Valchev, the idea of the conferences is to contribute to a better understanding of the role of cohesion policy, as well as raise more awareness to projects that are financed by the European Union and to present the results of such projects at the local level. In addition, the conferences organized by BTA develop Bulgaria's contribution to the European Union in rapprochement with its neighbours, noted Valchev. According to him, this is a continuation of the policy of Bulgaria, which dedicated its first presidency of the Council of the European Union in 2018 to the expansion of the EU in the Western Balkans.

Valchev noted that the experience of rapprochement in the field of education and science will be discussed at the forum in Varna, as the conference will include representatives of Varna universities, which are among the best in the country. He also pointed out Bulgaria's contribution to the European research on Antarctica, as the country is the sixth in the European Union with a scientific research vessel in the South ocean. "Of 50 countries in Europe, only 11 have a scientific research vessel that explores Antarctica. This contribution of Bulgaria is of great weight, because it allows Europe to match the countries in South America, and the Bulgarian ship closely interacts on behalf of all of Europe with the Argentine Armada", Valchev added.

Valchev compared some of Bulgaria's contribution to world science and recalled that Bulgaria is also the sixth country in the world with its own cosmonaut. For this reason BTA will issue a special issue of LIK magazine in April, dedicated to the 45th anniversary of Georgi Ivanov's flight in 1979. Valchev said that through its archives, BTA will present Bulgaria's contribution to space research, which continues even today for the European Union.