site.btaRuse Does Not Take Enough Advantage of Opportunities for Economic Development Provided by Schengen, Kiril Petkov Says

Ruse does not take enough advantage of the opportunities for economic development that Bulgaria's entry into the Schengen area and overland after January 1 this year gives, said co-chair of Continue the Change (CC) Kiril Petkov on Monday at a press conference in the BTA National press club in Ruse.

He stressed that a real step forward for a new bridge between Bulgaria and Romania over the Danube at Ruse was made under the governments he and Nikolay Denkov led. Petkov expressed hope that the other important project for the region, the highway between Ruse and Veliko Tarnovo, would also be implemented without a return to old practices from 2020.

"There are 19 projects submitted by Ruse Municipality", Petkov said. "However, there are only six signed agreements and zero funds used under the programme. This is one of the lower levels in Bulgaria that we see from large regional cities".

He added that none of these projects were related to investments that could benefit from Schengen in order to have economic development. He said Schengen allows for much lower logistical and transport costs for investors.

The press conference in the BTA press club was also attended by municipal councillors from the CC-DB group Rena Stefanova and Kalin Ivanov.