The first call for applications under the Bulgaria-Turkey Cooperation Programme 2021-2027 is launched

€1.7 million will be invested to increase capacity to tackle irregular migration in the border region

“With the Bulgaria-Turkey CBC Programme 2021-2027, our request is to be as relevant as possible with a solution for the needs in the region. As soon as possible, the measures it sets out to tackle illegal migration, which poses serious challenges at the moment, can be launched.” This was said by Deputy Minister of Regional Development and Public Works Desislava Georgieva at the opening of the first meeting of the Monitoring Committee for the programme (Interreg VI-A) Bulgaria Turkey 2021-2027 in Edirne yesterday. Among her priorities are supporting business in the green transition and integrated territorial development. Its total budget is €34.4 million.

The participants in the meeting approved the Application Guidelines for the Strategic Programme Project. The €1.7 million, which is its budget, will focus on training, exchange of experiences and good practices to increase the capacity of police departments to deal with migration. Measures to improve security will also be funded, as will the supply of specialised equipment to increase the technical preparedness of project partners. The strategic partners will be the regional directorates of the Ministry of Interior in Haskovo, Yambol and Burgas on the Bulgarian side and the provincial governments of Edirne and Kırklareli on the Turkish side. The project will be funded under the specific objective “Improving migration management” under the third priority of the programme “A more secure cross-border region”.

During the meeting of the Monitoring Committee the progress in the implementation of the Cross-border Cooperation Programme Interreg-IPA Bulgaria - Turkey 2014 - 2020 was also reported. A total of 101 joint projects have been funded under the programme for a total amount of EUR 28.7 million. The implementation of 98 of them has been successfully completed. The disbursed funds amounted to EUR 24.6 million or 83% of the programme budget and the certified funds amounted to EUR 22 million or 73%. Under the strategic project “Cross-Border Regions Collaborating for Blue Growth” (BLUE GROWTH COLLABs), research laboratories at the “Professor Dr Asen Zlatarov” University of Burgas and the Thracian University of Edirne have been renovated and equipped, looking for an applied field of research to tackle pollution in the Black Sea.

The recommendations made by the interim evaluation of the 2014 - 2020 PROGRAMA for the use of a combination of strategic projects and grants have been taken into account both in the launch of the third call for strategic projects and in the preparation of the programme (Interreg VI-A) Bulgaria - Turkey 2021-2027.