site.btaBTA's Europe in the Balkans Conference Discusses New Developments of 2021-2027 Programming Period in Vidin

A regional conference under the project "Europe in the Balkans: A Common Future" took place at the national press club of the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA) here on Tuesday. Participants in the conference discussed new aspects of the 2021-2027 programming period and the achievements of the 2014-2020 programming period in the region. 

At the opening of the conference, Vidin Regional Governor Ani Harutyunyan said that Vidin Region is a region with proven potential. Harutyunyan noted that the conference raises current topics like the improvement of the standard of living in Bulgaria and in particular in Vidin Region, adding that the state administration, as well as the municipal administration, are working hard to attract new investors to the region and give a better boost to the economic development. 

Desislava Todorova, Deputy Mayor of Vidin Municipality, said that with infrastructure projects and European partnerships, Vidin has turned into a more connected, beautiful city and an attractive centre for tourists. She stated that the influence of Europe in Vidin can be seen in many aspects, not only in the renewed, modernized and built infrastructure.

Cohesion policy is an extremely powerful tool for equalizing imbalances in Europe's regions, pointed out Radoslav Rizov, Director General for European funds for Competitiveness at the Ministry of Innovation and Growth. He recalled that the Ministry manages several investments under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), as well the Enterprise and Innovation for Competitiveness Programme (EICP) and the Research, Innovation and Digitalisation for Smart Transformation Operational Programme.

Operational Programme Human Resources Development has reached 1.245 million people in Bulgaria during the 2014-2020 programming period, said Desislava Ushkolova, head of the Programming and Contracting Department at the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy. She added that some 100,000 unemployed people have undergone training under the programme, 115,000 young people have gained access to internships, jobs, and mentoring services, and 125,000 older people from vulnerable groups have received improved access to social services.

Tsvetomir Tsenkov, expert at the Regional Information Centre in Vidin, said that the two programming periods saw an increase of EU funds, invested in various infrastructure, education, ecology, and economy project in Vidin Region. He noted that beneficiaries’ activity increased as well. "For the entire Vidin Region for the 2007–2013 period, we have 127 projects for 67 beneficiaries," he said.

The BTA project "Europe in the Balkans: A Common Future" is supported by the European Commission. It aims to foster a better understanding of the role of cohesion policy in the Balkans; to raise awareness of projects funded by the EU through the Cohesion Funds; promote dialogue on the results of the projects at local level and boost civic participation in issues related to cohesion policy.  

The project is funded with EUR 348,871. To achieve the project's aims, BTA is using a media mix and expects to reach out to between 700,000 and 1 million people in Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, North Macedonia, Greece and Turkiye. 

The series of conferences under the project was launched on December 20, 2023 in Sofia. The programme until August 2024 envisages BTA-hosted discussions in the cities of Blagoevgrad, Burgas, Varna, Vidin, Vratsa, Gabrovo, Dobrich, Kazanlak, Kardzhali, Kyustendil, Lovech, Montana, Pazardzhik, Pernik, Pleven, Plovdiv, Razgrad, Samokov, Silistra, Sliven, Smolyan, Sofia, Stara Zagora, Targovishte, Haskovo, Shumen, Yambol, Kardzhali and Haskovo, as well as cross-border conferences in Belgrade, Bosilegrad, Bucharest, Edirne, Skopje and Thessaloniki.