According to information from the Regional Information Centre in Pleven, 1,150 contracts worth BGN 456 million were concluded in the region during the 2014-2020 programming period, Centre's Manager Ignat Dimitrov told the local "Europe in the Balkans: A Common Future" conference on Tuesday.
"This is twice as much as investments and concluded contracts compared to the previous programming period", noted Dimitrov. "In the new programming period, we will prioritize the integrated territorial approach, in which an investment is seen as a synergy in order to be able to achieve economic, social and territorial cohesion. These are the principles laid down at the creation of the cohesion policy in 1994," he said.
Regarding the integrated territorial approach, he added that the public is involved in this process as there is a two-phase application, which starts with the submission of conceptual ideas, followed by approval and their presentation to the public. "When the citizenry is aware of what the investment is going to be, they have an opportunity to voice their opinions, which leads to a greater level of awareness and satisfaction," concluded Dimitrov.
BTA's Europe in the Balkans project 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 for 2024 includes 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, Vratsa and Montana, as well as cross-border conferences in Belgrade, Bosilegrad, Bucharest, Edirne, Skopje and Thessaloniki.
/YV/
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