Deputy Prime Minister Karadjov: We are taking the first step towards decentralization of municipalities

Funds have been set aside from the budget of the regional ministry, which will be provided directly to the municipalities in cooperation with the National Association of Municipalities in the Republic of Bulgaria. This is how we take the first step towards decentralization, which is a very important process for both Bulgaria and the Republic of Northern Macedonia. This was stated by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Regional Development and Public Works Grozdan Karadjov in Sandanski during a meeting of municipalities from the two countries falling within the scope of the Cross-Border Cooperation Program in the period 2021-2027. The forum was attended by the Prime Minister Kiril Petkov, the Minister of Local Self-Government of the Republic of Northern Macedonia Goran Milevski, the Executive Director of NAMRB Silvia Georgieva, mayors of the municipalities of Blagoevgrad and Kyustendil. Representatives of 25 municipalities in RNM from the Northeast, East and Southeast planning regions participated.

Welcoming the participants in the meeting, Prime Minister Kiril Petkov said that it is in the interest of Bulgaria and Northern Macedonia to have no borders, to have connected infrastructure, for mayors on both sides of the border to work together, to have businesses and cultural events trading with each other.  "Then all other problems, such as hate speech, will go away," the Bulgarian prime minister added.

Minister Karadjov acquainted the mayors with the possibilities for financing with funds from the Regional Development Fund, which will have a budget of BGN 1 billion. Apart from it, this year with BGN 500 million set aside through the restructuring of the budget of the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works, repairs of fourth-class roads and plumbing projects will be implemented in municipalities with a population of between 2,000 and 10,000 people. The financing will be done according to a simplified procedure, the regional minister explained.

The Program for cross-border cooperation between Bulgaria and the Republic of Northern Macedonia was discussed at the meeting. For the period until 2027, Bulgaria has managed to negotiate a 50% increase in resources under the joint program, it became clear during the forum. More than 31 million euros from the EU will finance 3 important projects for the region. EUR 9.3 million is for the construction of the new Strumyani-Berovo border checkpoint. EUR 14 million will be for integrated territorial investments, and the remaining EUR 4.6 million will be invested in the construction of green areas, development of urban and suburban green areas, etc.

The Minister of Local Self-Government of RNM Goran Milevski told the mayors of the two countries that this is the first time such a large-scale meeting has taken place. "My colleague Karadjov and I thought about how to bring the citizens closer and came to the conclusion that this is done most directly with the mayors," Milevski said. "When you are close to each other, so will be the citizens of both countries," the Minister of Local Self-Government of RNM addressed the mayors and wished to create more and larger joint projects within the next programming period of the Cross-Border Cooperation Program. Interreg - IPA Bulgaria - Northern Macedonia.

During the meeting of the municipalities from Bulgaria and the Republic of Northern Macedonia, the possibilities for financing Macedonian municipalities from the Flag Fund were presented. The most realistic option was to give a line of credit to an institution from the Republic of Northern Macedonia to finance Macedonian municipalities through secondary loans. The FLAG Fund and the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works can support the establishment of such a financial institution by providing know-how, expertise and experience in building a structure, system and procedures.