NEWS

 

President Rumen Radev discussed the opportunities for effective implementation of the European Union's financial programmes for promoting grassroots sport among young people and investment in innovation at a meeting at Dondukov 2 with EU Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth at the European Commission, Iliana Ivanova. The two agreed that increasing incentives for innovation and speeding up the process of its introduction into the economy is key to the competitiveness of EU member states and the Union as a whole. The President emphasised the role of digitalisation and the need for increased integration of digital technologies in the economy and society - an indicator on which Bulgaria is ranked second to last according to the European Commission's Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) for 2022.

 

The common position was that it is necessary to intensify the dialogue between national and European institutions for better awareness and accessibility of the public, NGOs and businesses to EU funds and programmes both in Bulgaria and in other EU member states. The President recalled the efforts of the caretaker government, led by Galab Donev, in this direction by holding numerous consultations and informational meetings in every region of the country, which led to a significant increase in the number of projects submitted under the Recovery and Resilience Plan.

 

The focus of the conversation was also the potential implementation with European funding of initiatives supporting sporting children in Bulgaria, grassroots sport and young people in the country from socially vulnerable groups, as a factor for their social integration and for overcoming regional imbalances in the country. Encho Keryazov, whose foundation in his name supports talented Bulgarian children in arts and sports, also participated in the conversation.

 

Bulgaria is increasingly visible on the German investment map and ever more attractive to German companies, many of which reinvest their profits and export research and development centres to our country. This was stated by President Rumen Radev during a meeting in Sofia with the leadership of the Federal Association for Economic Development and Foreign Trade (BWA).

The Bulgarian head of state emphasised the importance of global efforts to counter terrorism, while expressing concern about the escalation of tension in the Middle East following the Israeli air strike on the Qatari capital, Doha. Hundreds of our compatriots live and work in the Qatari capital.

Connectivity between the countries in Southeast Europe is important not only for their economic development, but is also a factor in NATO's collective security in the region, the president emphasises during a meeting with NATO's Deputy Secretary General

President Rumen Radev holds a meeting in Berlin with his counterpart, the President of the Federal Republic of Germany, Frank-Walter Steinmeier