The Bulgarian News Agency (BTA) today held a local conference in the southwestern town of Petrich as part of the Europe on the Balkans: Cohesion Capabilities project with the support of the European Commission.

Cohesion within the EU is achieved through dialogue that ensures that no one is left behind, BTA General Director Kiril Valchev said at the opening of the conference.

Exactly one year ago on this day, the BTA National Press Club was inaugurated in Petrich, marking a step towards integrating the city into the pan-European conversation, Valchev noted. "Cities like Petrich contribute to the EU even though they are not administrative centers," he added.

The regional administration of Blagoevgrad for the last year and a half has been the beneficiary of an important national infrastructure project that it is implementing, namely the construction of a new border checkpoint between Bulgaria and the Republic of North Macedonia, said the regional governor of Blagoevgrad, George Dinev.

He said the project will improve connectivity between the peoples of the region and will contribute greatly to building closer ties between them. He expressed the hope that such projects will help politicians in both countries understand that they can work and live together.

The Regional Information Center in Blagoevgrad has conducted an information campaign in all 14 municipalities in the region, said its manager Biser Mladenov.

"Instead of explaining how much money we received, because the figures are available on the Internet, we held a meeting where we made the young people pay attention to the fact that the school they study in, the road they walk on, was made with the funds of the EU," said Mladenov, adding that they met with over 500 students from the entire region.

The successfully implemented projects and the opportunities offered by the European Union were presented by the Mayor of Petrich Dimitar Bruchkov. He said that what has been achieved so far is a foundation that offers more opportunities.

"When we take advantage of the opportunities offered by all these European Structural and Investment Funds in the development of settlements, as well as the regional center, we create the basis on which it can be built," he said.

Knowledge is one of the answers to the question of how to invest funds effectively, said Yordanka Chobanova, head of the Representation of the European Commission in Bulgaria.

Chobanova said the purpose of the conference is to show the successes in Petrich since Bulgaria's accession to the European Union in 2007.

"We can say that today Petrich is a different, modern, renewed city", she emphasized. "During the last 10 years, more than 100 million Bulgarian leva have been invested in the municipality in nearly 500 projects aimed at small and medium-sized enterprises, energy efficiency, agriculture, urban environment, educational, touristic and cultural infrastructure", she emphasized. .

The increase in attendance and popularity of the archaeological site Heraclea Sintica shows an added value for advertising the state, which is reflected in the economy of the region and generally changes the map of cultural tourism in Bulgaria, noted Katya Stoyanova, head of the Restoration Project, Conservation and Socialization of Heraclea Sintica.

"One of the big goals of this kind of meeting is to make sure that Bulgaria is Europe and you don't need to think about a future outside our country, somewhere in Western Europe," BTA General Director Valchev addressed the senior students professionals from the School of Economics and Tourism in Petrich at the end of the local conference.

Through this initiative, BTA aims to raise public awareness and foster open dialogue on cohesion policy, local achievements and the implementation of EU policy priorities.

Between November 2024 and September 2025, BTA will organize discussions in its press clubs in Blagoevgrad, Burgas, Varna, Veliko Tarnovo, Vidin, Vratsa, Gabrovo, Dobrich, Kazanlak, Kardzhali, Kyustendil, Lovech, Montana, Pazardzhik, Pernik, Pleven, Razgrad, Ruse, Samokov, Svishtov, Sliven, Smolyan, Sofia, Stara Zagora, Troyan, Targovishte, Haskovo, Shumen and Yambol.

Cross-border conferences will be held in Belgrade, Bosilegrad, Bucharest, Edirne, Skopje and Thessaloniki.

The project is based on "Europe in the Balkans: A Common Future" and "Europe in Bulgaria: A Common Future", implemented by BTA in 2023 and 2024.