site.btaYambol Hosts Second Local Conference of BTA's EU-Backed Europe in Bulgaria Project

The second conference in Bulgaria's South East Region of the new EU-backed BTA project "Europe in Bulgaria: A Common Future", was held at the BTA Press Club in Yambol on Thursday. Opening the event, BTA Director General Kiril Valchev said that the main debate in Bulgaria is about the past, while the Bulgarian News Agency is trying to start talks about the future. 

Valchev cited data from the 2021 national census showing that Yambol Region has lost 16.5% of its population between 2011 and 2021 because of two equally impactful factors: the decreasing natural change and migration. Another negative indicator is the growing number of older people in the region. "We should have a conversation about what we should do to make contemporary Bulgaria, in particular Yambol and the region, look like those places where young people escape to, where they remain and where they prefer to raise children," Valchev noted.

The aim of "Europe in Bulgaria: A Common Future" is to provide information to the general public and to promote an open dialogue on cohesion policy, to show its results at local level and the role in implementing the political priorities of the European Union. EU cohesion policy involves investing in national and regional programmes to boost growth, jobs, social integration and better cooperation.

The first conference under the project in Bulgaria's South East Region was held in Sliven on January 17.