The Bulgarian National Radio (BNR) is trying to look for bridges to Serbia, said BNR Director General Milen Mitev during the cross-border conference as part of BTA's Europe on Balkans: Cohesion Skills project. The conference took place at the BTA National Press Club here on Friday.
Among the bridges Mitev pointed out that in recent years Radio Sofia has had broadcasts produced from Tsaribrod and Pirot. "Last year, we made an agreement with the regional media Radio and Television Tsaribrod for the exchange of information and broadcasts, so that we can provide our content there as well," he noted.
"In the Balkans, we have a long history of both unity and division. We hope that there is more ahead of us than just being together," Mitev stressed. He pointed out that the media seem to be better than politicians at looking for what unites people.
Mitev pointed out that BNR is part of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which is the largest union of public media, radio stations and television operators in the world with 113 members in 56 countries. He emphasized that the EBU was established in 1950 and looked towards Eastern Europe and the Balkans long before the EU, as there was a huge expansion of the EBU's members in 1993, when BNR also became a member. He noted that Serbia's public radio and television operator has been a member of EBU since 2001.
Mitev stated that for the past two years he has been elected a member of the Management Board of the EBU, which, in his words, is a very good sign that a person from the Balkans has been allowed to enter the highest management body of the EBU. "In this way, we are trying to pay more attention to what is happening in our region and what challenges the media in our region have, as well as how necessary it is to work together to confront the major challenges that not only the media, but also our entire societies have been facing in recent years," he said.
Among the challenges Mitev highlighted mainly disinformation, but also overinformation and the fact that the many digital channels flood us with information in such quantities that it becomes very difficult for people to filter out the important from the unimportant and the truth from manipulation.
BTA's Europe on Balkans: Cohesion Skills project aims to raise public awareness and foster open dialogue about cohesion policy, local achievements, and the implementation of the EU's policy priorities. 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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