site.btaBulgarian Innovation Minister Confers with EU Commissioner for Internal Market

Bulgaria’s Innovation and Growth Minister Milena Stoycheva held a working meeting with EU Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton in Brussels on Tuesday. They discussed cooperation in innovation and opportunities for the development of Bulgarian start-ups in the space and high-tech sectors. The meeting was also attended by Ivanka Tasheva, Deputy Permanent Representative of Bulgaria to the EU.

Stoycheva is taking part in the 16th European Space Conference in the Belgian capital on January 23 and 24. The conference is focused on the development of space technology in Europe and innovation in this field, Stoycheva's ministry said on its website on Tuesday. The two-day event is discussing the most pressing issues and challenges facing the European space ecosystem and its future plans and initiatives.

"Bulgaria has huge potential for development in the space sector. This is why we have made it a focus of our policy. One of Bulgaria's strategic goals is to become an associate member of the European Space Agency," Stoycheva said during Tuesday's meeting. She noted that Bulgaria's accession to NASA's Artemis Accords is historic and will enable Bulgarian companies and academia to take part in space programmes and projects. She gave companies EnduroSat and Dronamics as examples of the capabilities of Bulgarian start-ups. In her words, by creating a favourable environment for the development of the entrepreneurial and start-up ecosystem, Bulgaria will increase its competitiveness and capacity for the development of innovations and new technologies.

Stoycheva stressed that among the priorities of her Ministry is to attract high-tech investments and increase research and development in the sectors of information and communications technology, mechatronics and microelectronics, health and wellness industry, bioeconomy and biotechnology, circular and low-carbon economy.

Stoycheva and EU Commissioner Breton also discussed Bulgaria's inclusion in the Chips Joint Undertaking, which will finance measures under the European Chips Act. In Breton’s words, participation in the procedures will provide access to various financing and co-financing opportunities for companies in the sector.

Stoycheva touched on the first Bulgarian-language open-source artificial intelligence model, BgGPT, created by the world-renowned Bulgarian Institute for Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence and Technology. "Bulgaria has some of the best talent, and our main goal is to develop the ecosystem and innovation capacity of the country," she added.

Breton stressed the importance of building software production capacity for quantum technologies in Europe and stronger support for collaborative projects between startups and European industrial companies.