BTA Director General Valchev: BTA Expands Municipal Coverage, Announces EU-Focused Initiatives

Kaloyan Kirilov, BTA Correspondent Tanya Blagova

BTA Director General Kiril Valchev at the National Association of Municipal Council Chairs General Assembly, Radisson Hotel, Plovdiv (South Central Bulgaria), April 10, 2025 (BTA Photo/Boyan Botev)

Plovdiv, South Central Bulgaria,

10.04.2025 20:34

(BTA)

BTA Director General Kiril Valchev said Thursday BTA provides systematic coverage of the work of all municipal councils in Bulgaria at the General Assembly of the National Association of Municipal Council Chairs (NAMCC) in the Republic of Bulgaria.

Valchev said that since the autumn of 2024 BTA correspondents have been required to publish reports and attend every municipal council session in Bulgaria.

“We have not yet reached 100% coverage because sometimes sessions coincide,” Valchev said.

He added that, together with NAMCC, efforts are underway to standardize the presentation of municipal councils by providing advance information, access, and explanations of agenda items.

“Thanks to BTA’s systematic policy of expanding its network of correspondents, the number of published items on Bulgarian municipalities rose from 21,877 in 2023 to 35,623 in 2024. Meanwhile, the submissions BTA receives from municipal press offices doubled from 5,845 in 2023 to 10,136 in 2024, giving Bulgarian municipalities ever greater visibility,” Valchev said. He urged the attending chairs of municipal councils: “Use BTA in any way you see fit, while our correspondents will add value by producing reports and delving deeper into various topics that concern the people you represent. We have split our information flow. We function like a state newspaper for Bulgarian municipalities.”

Valchev added that BTA currently has 32 national press clubs in Bulgaria with permanent correspondents in all regional cities, plus five in non-regional centres (Kazanlak, Svishtov, Samokov, Petrich, and Troyan).

In larger cities such as Plovdiv, Varna (on the Black Sea), and Burgas (on the Black Sea), BTA has five correspondents each, covering economics, culture, sports, and photography. “They all have electric vehicles, enabling them to travel within a region at minimal cost,” Valchev noted. Only two cities do not allow free parking for electric cars, he said, adding that standardizing free parking rules throughout Bulgaria would be a good idea.

BTA has also signed cooperation agreements with 39 of the country’s 51 universities for systematic coverage of higher education institutions. Valchev expressed hope that all universities will enter into such agreements by the end of the year. He asked the Mayor of Plovdiv for assistance in finalizing one with Plovdiv University.

Most often, BTA implements projects in its national press clubs in collaboration with the European Parliament or European Commission, thus engaging municipalities from all regional centres in pan-European and national debates. Currently, BTA is conducting the Europe in the Balkans: Together through Knowledge project in collaboration with the European Commission. The goal is to demonstrate that this is a two-way relationship: while Bulgaria gains from EU funding, the European Union also benefits from Bulgaria’s participation.

“We have planned two further interesting projects, for which we hope to receive EC funding. One is Together in the European Union: Twin Towns, highlighting Bulgarian towns twinned with counterparts in other countries. The other focuses on showcasing Bulgaria’s agricultural festivals, because tasty food is one of Bulgaria’s and the Balkans’ contributions to Europe, and BTA will count on the support of NAMCC,” Valchev said.

/RY/