Bulgaria joined the Geneva Ministerial Declaration on Sustainable Housing and Urban Development

Bulgaria joined the Geneva Ministerial Declaration on Sustainable Housing and Urban Development. This became clear at a ministerial meeting during the 78^th Session of the Committee on Housing and Land Management of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), which took place in Geneva, the Swiss Confederation, and was attended by Denitsa Nikolova, Deputy Minister of Regional Development and Public Works. The Ministerial Declaration is a key step towards achieving the common goal of sustainable urban development and prosperity of urban populations around the world.

“Approaches and manners of implementation are different, but we need to seek interconnection and interaction between them through horizontal themes. An integrated approach is crucial for the complex solution of urban issues and the promotion of the potential of cities,” Deputy Minister Nikolova said.

In front of forum participants, she mentioned that over the last decade Bulgaria has gained valuable experience, which has brought new dimension to the national urban development policy. One of the possibilities for implementing the new integrated approach has been introduced and developed successfully through the EU Cohesion Policy and various integrated mechanisms. During the meeting Deputy Minister Denitsa Nikolova also stressed that urban development and sustainable urban strategies form the basis of regional policy, which should aim at a balanced territorial development.

“Polycentric and balanced territorial development is extremely important for Bulgaria and is also one of the main issues included in the Pact of Amsterdam - the main instrument related to the implementation of EU’s Urban Agenda. “Bulgaria is contributing to the implementation of EU’s Urban Agenda by being part of 4 partnerships covering urban mobility, digitization, climate change adaptation, innovative and responsible public procurement,” Nikolova also said.

She pointed out that it is important for MRDPW to put more effort to achieve a balanced territorial development in order to reduce the negative demographic and economic features of the Bulgarian regions. “In this context, we successfully combine EU funding, loans from international institutions, national resources, and financial instruments,” the Deputy Minister said.

In 2014-2020, under the OP Regions in Growth, as part of the main urban development investment program, in Bulgaria, approximately BGN 1.8 billion were invested in cities based on 67 integrated urban renovation and development plans. Twelve European Territorial Cooperation programs also support us in achieving the objectives for sustainable urban development through access to over BGN 2 billion to ensure well-connected and safe peripheral regions through creating growth and jobs, tackling climate change and energy dependence, reducing poverty and promoting social inclusion. More than BGN 360 million have been planned for the implementation of urban development projects through financial instruments that will provide low-interest loans in various areas such as urban mobility, social inclusion, safe and attractive urban environment, culture and sports.

The adoption of the Declaration marked the 70^th anniversary of the establishment of the Committee on Housing and Land Management of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. The event brought together ministers in charge of urban development issues by providing opportunities to share high-level experience and views on the progress and challenges related to the implementation of international agreements such as the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the New Urban Agenda, and the Geneva UN Charter on Sustainable Housing.