The Bulgarian News Agency (BTA) brings to Belgrade Bulgaria's knowledge of the European Union and the opportunities in the EU for Bulgarian citizens in Serbia, BTA Director General Kiril Valchev said at the opening of a cross-border conference within BTA's Europe on Balkans: Cohesion Skills project. The conference took place at the BTA National Press Club here on Friday.
"Thanks to BTA's National Press Club and its correspondent Teodora Encheva, who from today also has an assistant in the person of the cameraman Emil Conkic, Belgrade and Serbia are part of the general European talks that BTA organizes with the support of the European Commission," Valchev pointed out. He emphasised that this conference is taking place on the eve of March 1, the date on which 13 years ago, in 2012, the EU granted candidate member status to Serbia. "The great meaning of this dialogue is to discuss how to continue our rapprochement, so that between today's students in Bulgaria and Serbia there will be no border tomorrow," Valchev stressed, adding that the great goal should not be a second border crossing at Kalotina for the Bulgarians from Tsaribrod, but that there should be no border crossing checkpoint at all.
He stated that BTA brings Bulgaria's knowledge of the EU to Belgrade, because Bulgaria knows what it is like to be in the European Union, which BTA is trying to present to more people in Serbia. "These conversations also provide knowledge for Bulgarian citizens in Serbia about their opportunities as citizens of the EU through their Bulgarian passports. And after Bulgaria's full entry into Schengen, the opportunities for Bulgarian citizens in the EU become even greater," Valchev pointed out, adding that BTA has the responsibility to provide information about the life of Bulgarians living outside the borders of Bulgaria, as well as informing them about events in Bulgaria.
"Particularly valuable are the opportunities in the field of education that the EU provides for European citizens, and therefore the emphasis in today's conversation in Belgrade is the participation of Prof Miglena Temelkova, Council of Rectors Chair and Rector at the University of Telecommunications and Post, as well as her colleagues from Belgrade," Valchev said. He emphasised that the most valuable thing for European citizens is the protection they have from the EU of their rights, which are based on European values and standards. In his words, more knowledge about these values and standards can help Serbia become part of the EU sooner and all its citizens to use the opportunities of EU membership, just as Bulgarian citizens, including those in Serbia, have been able to do for 18 years.
Valchev also informed the participants of the conference that BTA received official permission to place a plaque of Bulgarian writer and revolutionary Lyuben Karavelov permanently on the same street as BTA's National Press Club in Belgrade, where Karavelov had lived and worked as a journalist. Valchev said that this memorial plaque also reminds of the articles written in Belgrade by Karavelov, such as the one entitled What Do We Need?, in which he speaks of the need for solidarity between Serbs and Bulgarians. Valchev cited the article, which stated that this solidarity has existed for a long time, but that it has often been violated by the rulers of both countries, who made the people hate and fight each other, just to satisfy their own egoism.
Valchev stressed that in that same article, Karavelov even speaks of the unification of the two peoples, as if anticipating the possibility of them being together in the European Union. "Karavelov also makes an appeal that is still relevant today as a guiding principle in the modern European Union: Let us let each people live as they want, let us let each have their own schools, their own internal self-government, their own internal development, because nationality does not depend on the will of individuals, and it is also impossible for a person to choose their nationality; as I was born, so I remain, no matter how much I give up on it", Valchev concluded.
Through the Europe on Balkans: Cohesion Skills project, BTA aims to raise public awareness and foster open dialogue about cohesion policy, local achievements, and the implementation of the EU's policy priorities. Special attention is paid to education and skills as a driver of regional development. The project kicked off with a conference in Veliki Preslav in November 2024. Until September 2025, BTA will host discussions at its press clubs in the following cities: Blagoevgrad, Burgas, Varna, Veliko Tarnovo, Vidin, Vratsa, Gabrovo, Dobrich, Kazanlak, Kardzhali, Kyustendil, Lovech, Montana, Pazardzhik, Pernik, Pleven, Razgrad, Ruse, Samokov, Svishtov, Sliven, Smolyan, Sofia, Stara Zagora, Troyan, Targovishte, Haskovo, Shumen, and Yambol. Cross-border conferences will be held in Belgrade, Bosilegrad, Bucharest, Edirne, Skopje, and Thessaloniki. The project builds on the Europe in the Balkans: A Common Future and Europe in Bulgaria: A Common Future projects, implemented by BTA in 2023 and 2024, respectively.
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