29.03.2023
WHAT IS THE EFFECT OF EURO-FUNDING IN THE NORTH-WEST?
The Bulgarian Telegraph Agency organizes three local regional conferences dedicated to the future of the North-West region, in the three regional centers - Vidin, Montana and Vratsa. The participants in the discussions focused on the degree of convergence and what was achieved in the previous period under the operational programs, future challenges and changes in the current program period.
The Municipality of Vidin makes the most of the programs of the European Union (EU), said the Deputy Mayor of Vidin Desislava Todorova:
"The projects that we can distinguish as successfully completed are: "Repair and modernization of the educational infrastructure", "Rehabilitation and repair of the central pedestrian area", "Completion of the waste water treatment plant". Projects that we are currently implementing, under the Operational Program "Environment", our fellow citizens directly feel the benefits of the EU in their homes - over 4,000 households will benefit from the opportunity to replace their wood and coal appliances with environmentally friendly ones; under the "Regions in Growth" Operational Program, this year we will complete the construction of 37 social housing units, introduce energy efficiency measures in 13 blocks, introduce energy efficiency measures in the Vidin Municipality administrative building, and complete another part of the repair of the central pedestrian zone. We are preparing as hard as possible for the new program period. Let's take advantage of all the opportunities that the Recovery and Resilience Plan gives us, and we also look forward to the Regional Development Program announcing its terms. We are actively working on the Operational Program "Development of Human Resources". We are also preparing hard for the cross-border cooperation programs, where we have established very good partnerships with organizations from Romania, and there we already have a ready investment project for our Danube park. Citizens are already making the most of and seeing the results of our EU membership."
The mayor of Belogradchik Boris Nikolov is more skeptical of the effects of the absorption of European funds in the region:
"We have been in the EU for 15-16 years, we were expecting rapprochement - the desolate cohesion. Cohesion requires complete social rapprochement of our population, of our country with the developed European world. Does this happen? Yes, we are absorbing billions from Europe, but is this the most efficient use of this money? Hundreds of millions have been invested in the Vidin region, but does our population live better? Statistics are the most impartial and show migration, which means that our population is not satisfied with this cohesion. Yes, we also invested millions of BGN in the municipality of Belogradchik, we achieved many material results in all areas. There is no operating program that we do not use in the most effective way. Our biggest pride is the renovation - we don't have a state or municipal building that hasn't been renovated. We have also rehabilitated about 1000 apartments, now we are starting with the smaller residential buildings to use these opportunities as well. But I think that we use the funds from the European funds insufficiently effectively. The only thing that directly benefits our population is sanitation. Each household received a serious premium of BGN 500 per season. Hopefully the coefficient of useful action will be much higher, because in Bulgaria we are tired of strategies, plans and whatnot without having the effects we expect."
The largest amount of funds in the Vidin region during the past program period was attracted under the Operational Program "Environment" - nearly BGN 62 million. Operational program "Development of human resources" has reached 18,000 people in the Vidin region, which is every fourth person in the region. BGN 181 million from the cohesion policy is planned for the Vidin region, and for the new program period 50 percent of the financing from the European funds is planned for Northern Bulgaria. In terms of regional connectivity and mobility, it became clear that the new Vidin-Medkovets railway section is expected to be ready in 2027. This was assured by Albena Traikova, head of the Vidin-Sofia project, from the National Railway Infrastructure Company.
A local conference "Europe in Bulgaria: Common Future" organized by the Bulgarian Telegraph Agency was also held in Vratsa. In front of the forum participants, Vratsa Mayor Kalin Kamenov recalled the image of Northwest Bulgaria as the poorest region in Europe and emphasized that the goal of the local authorities is to change this trend:
"The general picture shows that for the last few years, in the last program period, we have implemented 81 projects worth nearly BGN 270 million in Vratsa. The effect of this is several key, important, general projects that actually change the picture from a negative to a positive trend in terms of population, employment and unemployment. The very fact that currently unemployment in Vratsa, even in the winter period, is within about 3%, shows an extremely good trend in terms of employment. The second positive trend is in terms of population growth. The latest data from the National Statistical Institute show an increase of 12,000 inhabitants over the last 7 years. These are the years when the key big projects are implemented. The third trend is that for four years in a row Vratsa has not exceeded the levels of fine dust particles. Within the framework of the new program period, we are also preparing a new large project for the replacement of the heating installations, so that there are no more views of houses from which smoke from coal or wood comes out and to further improve the condition of the atmospheric air in Vratsa. For the new program period, we have prepared projects for over 130 million BGN. The overall goal is for our city to be green, clean and economically developed. We have pledged funds for the creation of new industrial zones, despite the fact that in Vratsa there is active work on new factories that are already operating. Even today we signed a contract for another one, which is starting to be built in Vratsa. I am convinced that the municipality of Vratsa will be an attractive center for work for many residents of the region. There are already many people from neighboring areas who travel and work in Vratsa. With the future projects that we are starting in the new program period, we will be able to show the citizens that the projects are not done simply to realize funds, but to have an effect for the citizens."
The problems we encounter when applying for projects are problems of small municipalities, said Violeta Nikiforova, chief legal advisor of the Municipality of Mizia. According to her, the main problem is the lack of funds for design, which small municipalities cannot allocate:
"Since there is no stability in the country at the moment, we are not clear what the right directions will be, what we can orient ourselves towards as a small municipality, for which the projects that will be applied for are worthwhile and for which funds are not spent without to have clarity. The lack of government, of clarity regarding the future procedures that will be opened creates obstacles for small municipalities like Mizia, because we do not have funds in the budget to set aside for design."
The Vratsa region, as part of the North-West planning region, is in first place in terms of the total value of the implemented projects during the past program period from 2014 until now, which amounts to over BGN 562 million.
Conference "Europe in Bulgaria: Common Future", organized by BTA, also took place at the Youth Center in Montana. "Our administration implements projects in many areas and people see the results," Tihomir Antonov, Deputy Mayor of Montana Municipality, told the participants in the discussion.
"Montana currently manages projects worth about BGN 13 million, which are divided into several operational programs. The largest number of projects are under the Operational Program "Development of Human Resources". The next largest program is "Regional Development". For the last 8 years, the municipality has implemented four large projects in this area, which have a total value of about BGN 19.2 million. The largest program as a financial resource is the environmental protection program. There, the Municipality is currently working on two large projects, which will last until 2024. In parallel, the Municipality is very active in cross-border cooperation programs. What do we envision doing in the next 3 to 5 years? Given that the new EU programs are not yet open for Bulgaria, and the Recovery and Resillence Plan is partially open, we are currently applying for the rehabilitation of the Youth Home building, with an approximate value of about BGN 2 million, and we will apply for renovation of the "Mladost" hall, which is the largest sports hall in Montana, also worth about BGN 2 million. The implementation of a project to improve street lighting in the city for about BGN 1 million is pending. We expect the Bulgaria-Serbia and Bulgaria-Romania cross-border cooperation programs to be opened very soon, where we have negotiations with our partners regarding projects in the field of disasters and accidents, culture, renewable energy sources, biodiversity, etc."
Over 340 million BGN euro funds were attracted in the Montana region during the past program period.
The Northwest is performing well under the Recovery and Resillence Plan – 58 projects for 18 million BGN have already been approved, Vratsa is the champion, stated the Minister of Innovation and Growth Alexander Pulev at a forum in the city. A measure for the development of industrial zones and parks in Bulgaria is expected to be opened in April. The minimum grant amount for a project is BGN 3 million, and the maximum is BGN 40 million.
