Over EUR 4.6 million is allocated for public services for the benefit of the population in the border regions of Bulgaria and Serbia

Nearly €12 million for small and medium-sized businesses in border settlements to modernise and reach new markets

 Over EUR 4.6 million will be allocated to develop new or upgrade existing services from different sectors (excluding tourism and fire prevention) for the benefit of the population in the border regions of Bulgaria and Serbia. The call is open to digital and infrastructure solutions that improve the quality, accessibility and speed of service delivery for citizens and businesses – so-called services of general interest. The funds are provided by the Bulgaria-Serbia Cross-Border Cooperation Programme (INTERREG V-A) 2021-2027, managed by the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works. This became clear at a meeting of the Monitoring Committee of the Programme, which took place in Sofia. It also discussed the progress in the implementation of the programme, as well as the phases in which the various supported projects are located. The meeting was attended by Desislava Georgieva, Director of the Territorial Cooperation Management Directorate of the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works, Kristina Askovic of the Ministry of European Integration of the Republic of Serbia, Margarita Grancharska-De Munk of the Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy of the European Commission, as well as representatives of local authorities, state and non-governmental institutions from both countries.

It is expected that the acceptance of project proposals under the call for services of general interest will be announced by mid-June. Its ultimate goal is to select and support project proposals that improve the well-being of citizens and the sustainable development of the cross-border region in a wide range of sectors tailored to specific territorial needs. Projects will be able to submit national, regional or local public authorities, municipal and state-owned enterprises, non-governmental organizations. Each project can receive up to EUR 1 million, of which 85% is grants and 15% is national co-financing. For the first time, a specially designed Impact Assessment Index will be applied in the evaluation of project proposals. Its aim is to ensure a fair and economically justified balance between the number of users and the territorial scope of the services offered, so that smaller territories are not penalised in the assessment process.

"To date, the implementation of the programme is progressing. Investment projects worth over EUR 17 million have been approved, representing 50% of its resources, in the areas of tourism and disaster risk prevention,” said Desislava Georgieva. She added that more than 12 million euros from the program are for business support. "Our goal is to incentivise micro, small and medium-sized enterprises to develop cross-border value chains, to increase their competitiveness and productivity in order to reach larger regional and international markets, and hence to grow their turnover and create new jobs," Georgieva said. It acknowledged that by announcing the call for services of general interest, practically 100% of the funds under the programme will be invested in its implementation.

During the Committee meeting, the implementation of the strategic project under the programme - "Preparing the population for disaster response and improving the capacity of professional emergency response teams in the Bulgarian-Serbian cross-border region - RESPONSE" was examined. The project envisages that Bulgaria and Serbia will jointly deal with natural disasters and catastrophes through coordinated actions on both sides of the border. Nearly EUR 7.3 million is invested in the supply of new specialized equipment, training of rescue teams and volunteer formations, joint training and preparation of the population. With the provided funding, 26 specialized vehicles, rescue equipment, personal protective equipment, as well as modern information and communication technologies will be delivered. The renovation of the dormitory at the Vocational Training Centre of the Regional Directorate for Fire Safety and Civil Protection in Montana has already been completed. Renovation of the educational base at the Faculty of the Academy of the Ministry of Interior is forthcoming. On the Serbian side, the project includes equipment of the Emergency Management Centre in Zajecar. The two countries also conduct field trainings for the population, operational management sessions, as well as specialized trainings for rescue interventions in tunnels. Strategic documents for joint operational procedures, intervention plans and an updated strategy for forest fire management in the cross-border region are being developed. A leading partner on the Bulgarian side is the General Directorate for Fire Safety and Civil Protection and partners are the Faculty of Fire Safety and Civil Protection, the Academy of the Ministry of Interior, the National Association of Volunteers and the Emergency Management Sector of the Ministry of Interior of the Republic of Serbia.