site.btaCohesion Policies Discussed among Local Authorities and Academia in Stara Zagora BTA Press Club

Cohesion policies were discussed Tuesday by representatives of local authorities and academia at a local conference on the project "Europe in Bulgaria: A Common Future" at the National Press Club of the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA) in Stara Zagora (Southeastern Bulgaria). The project is implemented by BTA with the support of the European Commission. 

Between 2014 and 2021, more than BGN 310 million have been invested under various EU operational programmes in seven of the region's 11 municipalities, including the regional capital of Stara Zagora, Deputy Governor Stoyan Stoyanov said. He elaborated that these funds have helped improve the service quality and change the appearance of the local towns and villages. 

Georgi Simeonov, head of the Investment and European Programmes Directorate, emphasized that the main policy of Stara Zagora for the next programming period is the transition to a low-carbon economy. 

Maglizh Mayor Dusho Gavazov drew attention to the synergism between local authorities and the state. He also pointed out that his municipality can very well support itself from tourism.

Trakia University Rector Prof. Dobri Yarkov presented the recently built Academic Information Centre at the discussion, which he called "Trakia University's jewel". He said that the Centre will be the educational home of new specialties in the IT sector - software engineering, information technology, computer and communication engineering. 

Ten national programmes have been approved under the partnership agreement between the Republic of Bulgaria and the European Commission for the 2021-2027 programming period, Stara Zagora Regional Information Centre manager Radka Tileva said. They are worth a total of BGN 25 billion, of which BGN 21 billion are from the EU and BGN 4 billion are national co-financing.