We have reached an agreement on all items and issues which were raised for discussion at the meeting of the Prime Minister Simeon Saxe-Coburg Gotha with the Board of the National Association of …

We have reached an agreement on all items and issues which were raised for discussion at the meeting of the Prime Minister Simeon Saxe-Coburg Gotha with the Board of the National Association of the Municipalities in the Republic of Bulgaria /NAMRB/, said the Regional Development and Public Works Minister Valentin Cerovski at the press conference following the meeting. The topics for discussion are related to financial decentralization, state-owned property on municipal territory, future absorption of EU pre-accession and structural funds. Arrangements have been made for the terms within which the Council of Ministers can form opinions allowing local authorities to participate sufficiently in the process of drawing up the 2005 budget procedure. Minister Cerovski will represent the government in working meetings and conversations with the NAMRB, with reference to the preparation of the administrative self-governance bodies for structural funds absorption. The Prime Minister has assigned this task to the Minister because it is directly linked with the new Regional Development Act. The meeting saw the preparation of a plan for solving the problems of the building stock of the NAMRB, on the territory of the Municipality of the City of Sofia. The road to financial decentralization is rather difficult and requires a serious political commitment by the government, as well as assuming great responsibilities by the bodies of local self-governance, underlined Minister Cerovski. Photo: /from left to right/ Minister Valentin Cerovski and Krasimir Mirev, the NAMRB Chairman, at the press conference PR & International Relations Directorate