The implementation of the EU Operational Programmes for the 2014-2020 programming period and the prospects for the new 2021-2027 programming period were on the agenda at a local conference, part of the Europe in the Balkans: Common Future project, here on Tuesday. The Bulgarian News Agency (BTA) is implementing this project with the support of the European Commission.
The goal of the project is for BTA to provide information to the general public and promote an open dialogue on the European Union's cohesion policy and to present the results at local level and the implementation of the European Union's political priorities.
The conference was opened by the Governor of Kardzhali, Nikola Chanev, who stressed that the European projects, and in particular those under the cross-border cooperation programme with Greece are of utmost importance for the people of the region.
The regional administration has worked on two such projects during the last programming period. One of them, which was implemented with seven other partners with a budget of EUR 13.2 million, was for flood protection, was successful and will be built on in the next programming period, Chanev said. Of the funds, BGN 1.3 million went to Kardzhali.
The other project was dedicated to promoting tourist destinations in Kardzhali, Haskovo and Smolyan.
A total of 1,010 contracts for funding with EU funds have been concluded in the territory of Kardzhali region in the 2014-2020 period. These contracts worth more than BGN 385 million have been signed with 646 beneficiaries, said the manager of the District Information Point, Mariana Dimova. The Operational Programme Innovation and Competitiveness was the most popular, with 453 contracts concluded.
Archaeologist Prof. Nikolay Ovcharov, who took part in the forum with a video, said that EU projects are the blood that sustains Bulgarian cultural tourism, as without them, "we can do nothing". he added that while Bulgaria is one of the three countries with the highest number of archaeological monuments in Europe, it has a lot of catching up to do in the field of cultural tourism.
/RY/
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