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Position and Proposals of the Consultative Council for National Security on the Strategic Priorities of the Republic of Bulgaria in the context of the Partnership Agreement with the European Commission in the Period 2014-2020

The Consultative Council for National Security discussed the strategic priorities of the Republic of Bulgaria and the contribution made by the Partnership Agreement with the European Commission in the period 2014-2020 for achieving the goals of the Bulgaria 2020 National Program for Development.

Bulgaria’s strategic priorities are presented in the National Program for Development 2020, the leading strategic document that sets the goals of the policies for the country’s development up to 2020. This is an integrated document on Bulgaria’s social and economic development up to 2020, on which consensus was reached in 2012.

The CCNS members unanimously agree that the Partnership Agreement project is in line with the Bulgaria 2020 National Program for Development and the Europe 2020 strategy. The Partnership Agreement is a strategic tool that will ensure a vitally important resource for implementing the Bulgaria 2020 National Program for Development.

Eight strategic priorities of the country up to 2020 are formulated in the Bulgaria 2020 National Program for Development: improving the access to and quality of education and training of the labor force and its qualitative characteristics; reducing poverty and encouraging social inclusion; promoting a stable integrated regional development and making use of the local potential; the development of agriculture so as to ensure food security and the production of products with a high added value under the conditions of a stable natural resource management; supporting innovations and investment activities so as to boost the economy’s competitiveness;  strengthening the institutional environment to boost the efficiency of public services rendered to the people and to business circles; providing for energy security, enhancing resource efficiency and improving the transport cohesion and access to markets.

The Partnership Agreement identifies the basic conditions which will contribute to achieving a smart, sustainable and inclusive growth in line with the goals defined in the Europe 2020 strategy. The conditions for inclusive growth are: education, qualification and employment. For achieving smart growth these are: investments in science, innovations and competitive small and medium-sized enterprises.  For sustainable growth the conditions are: cohesion and green economy. In addition to the three types of growth, the importance of good management by increasing the capacity of the administration and judiciary is highlighted for Bulgaria, including e-government and justice.

In line with the goals of the Europe 2020 strategy and the Bulgaria 2020 National Program for Development, four priorities concerning the European structural and investment funds in the period 2014-2020 have been formulated in the Partnership Agreement. These include:

Priority 1: Education, qualification and employment for inclusive growth, which includes the sub-priorities: employment and labor mobility, social inclusion and education, training and life-long learning.

Priority 2: Scientific research, innovations and investments for smart growth, which includes the sub-priorities: enhancing competitiveness and the resource efficiency of the SMEs, R&D and innovations, access to ICT;

Priority 3: Cohesion and green economy for sustainable growth, which includes the sub-priorities: cohesion (external and internal), transition to low-carbon economy, energy and resource efficiency, climate and climate change, risk prevention and management, environment and the protection of natural resources.

Priority 4: Good management and access to high-quality public services, which includes the sub-priorities: administrative efficiency and high-quality judiciary; access to high-quality public services and an effective implementation of e-governance and justice.   

The CCNS members deem as extremely important that measures for reducing inequality are envisaged in the project for a Partnership Agreement. Measures aimed at the development of modern infrastructure, e-governance, energy efficiency and diversification, and also at securing a balanced development of agriculture as a key sector in the Bulgarian economy should be supported. In their opinion, it is essential that raising the Bulgarian economy’s competitiveness by developing innovative eco-systems, technological centers and parks, which will establish the connection between education, science and business, are supported. Serious attention should be paid to the balanced regional development, employment policies and increasing the Bulgarians’ incomes.

The CCNS members unanimously agree that attaining the goals of the Bulgaria 2020 National Program for Development and the Partnership Agreement will speed up economic growth and raise the Bulgarian standards of living.

The CCNS members regard as limited the resources for implementing the Bulgaria 2020 National Program for Development. The funds under the Partnership Agreement are an important additional resource to ensure the implementation of the country’s strategic priorities. A transparent and efficient spending of these funds is necessary to this effect.

The Consultative Council for National Security agreed on the following proposals to the state authorities and institutions:

1. The Council of Ministers should launch and carry out an information campaign to raise awareness of the Partnership Agreement project with regard to its priorities, funding, deadlines. The fulfillment of the Partnership Agreement in the context of the Bulgaria 2020 National Program for Development should be annually reported to the public.

2. The CCNS members agree that the fulfillment of the Agreement, including the maximal absorption of the EU funds is essential to promote the country’s sustainable economic growth and to bring prosperity to the Bulgarian people. They agree that the political parties and institutions should pool efforts to achieve this goal.

3. All institutions should work consistently to ensure the transparent fulfillment of the Partnership Agreement by maintaining and strengthening the capacity necessary to this