NEWS

President Plevneliev: Regional Policy is in the Heart of Europe

The President Called On for Entering a New Stage of Integration in Europe, Without Building Artificial Barriers

Regional Policy is in the Heart of European integration – it produces tangible results, leads to democracy and prosperity. This is what President Rosen Plevneliev said at a solemn ceremony in Sankt Polten, the Republic of Austria, where he received the ERI prix award for his contribution to preserving the diversity and equality of the regions on their road to united Europe. The Head of State emphasized that the European citizens expect open government policies, transparency and the implementation of reasonable projects and this is namely what the EU regional policy ensures.

The ERI prix is awarded once in two years for significant contributions to united Europe. The Bulgarian President is the fifth bearer of the award. The following people received the award before him: Jean-Clause Juncker, President of the European Commission and Prime Minister of Luxembourg (1995-2013), Edmund Steuber – Prime Minister of Bavaria (1993-2007), Vaclav Klaus – President of the Czech Republic (2003-2013), Miculas Dzurinda – Prime Minister (1998-2006) and Foreign Minister of Slovakia. These are statesmen who have left their mark in history and have played an important role in the formation of Europe, Erwin Proll, Prime Minister of Lower Austria said.

In President Rosen Plevneliev’s words, the qualitatively new level of joint work between government, regions and municipalities ensures a sustainable growth based on shared priorities for development. “After 2009 we launched projects on building 300 km of highways, 26 new subway stations, on building railways, roads, water projects, the first Bulgarian “Sofia Tech Park” innovative eco system. We also launched 10,000 SMEs projects, we renovated over 460 kindergartens and schools in the Bulgarian regions,” the Head of State said and emphasized that these have improved the lives of millions of Bulgarians.

The President said that currently our country is working to ensure closer economic integration between the Bulgarian regions and those in Central and East Europe, which are united by the common ambition to implement the projects on transport and energy inter-connectedness and the Danube strategy. “All regions in Europe are important and all of them have prospects – from the richest to the poorest,” the President emphasized and added that as a result of the political and national consensus reached, Bulgaria has set its priorities which it should fulfill by 2020 with the support of the European Commission.

In his statement made at the ceremony, the Bulgarian Head of State highlighted the importance of the EU regional policy for integration and for the European prospects of the Balkan countries. In the President’s view, the success of regional cooperation is not so much based on geographic proximity, but on the shared values of the countries in the region. “The cooperation between the neighboring countries is the most powerful tool, particularly for Southeast Europe and the feeling you experience when you see how the people living in the border regions of the Iron Curtain are currently jointly building their better future is really inspiring,” Rosen Plevneliev said. “Hopefully we will enter a new stage of integration and will not build a new artificial wall. Because only united Europe can be a Europe of peace, a Europe of cooperation, a Europe of the regions,” the Head of State emphasized.

The President reiterated the importance of Southeast Europe as a “linking element” between Europe and Asia. “We are located in the center of these trade roads and regional inter-connectedness is an important condition ensuring investments in Bulgaria from the countries in the region and providing access to new markets in the east and in the west,” Rosen Plevneliev said.

The Head of State also recalled that the European Commission is planning to invest almost 50 billion euros in the region under the European structural tools by 2020. “This means that the funds for cross-border cooperation between the Southeast European countries will considerably increase and by 2020 the infrastructure in the Balkans will be considerably improved and modernized. The Head of State emphasized that all citizens in Southeast Europe will benefit from the improvement of the economic prospects of the European regions.

During the ceremony the Prime Minister of Lower Austria Erwin Proll said that President Rosen Plevneliev’s firm position and support for strong regions in Europe is one of the reasons for conferring the award to him. “Europe should rely for its future development precisely on these regions,” Erwin Proll added and said that Bulgaria is an ardent supporter of a pro-European course. The Prime Minister of Lower Austria said that Rosen Plevneliev is a symbol of stability and predictability, Austria’s important and cooperative partner in the issues on the European agenda. “President Plevneliev is a man with a democratic mode of thinking and a European mind-set and the award he received is an acknowledgement of his qualities as a statesman, politician and European,” Erwin Proll further emphasized.