Bulgaria will host a Regional Connectivity Summit, and the government's goal is for the country to consolidate its role as a key entry point between Europe and Asia. This was stated by the Minister of Foreign Affairs Velislava Petrova-Chamova to journalists at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, quoted by Nova TV. The forum was announced by the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen in her annual State of the EU speech.
Petrova-Chamova described the decision as recognition for Bulgaria and a result of the cabinet's active foreign policy. According to her, the initiative is an example of the government's approach not just to join European solutions, but to propose its own ideas and seek support for them.
„Today is an important day for Bulgaria. You saw for yourself that the Bulgarian Prime Minister was the only Prime Minister or Head of Government of an EU Member State who was personally mentioned in the speech. This is a recognition for both Bulgaria and the Bulgarian government“, the Foreign Minister said.
According to her, the topic of connectivity was raised at the first meeting of Prime Minister Rumen Radev with Ursula von der Leyen. Since then, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Transport Department have worked with the European Commission to implement the initiative.
„We have set connectivity as our main priority topic, which positions Bulgaria as an entry point to Europe, not as a periphery“, Petrova-Chamova pointed out.
The Foreign Minister emphasized the country's geographical location and its role in vertical and horizontal transport and energy corridors. According to her, their importance is further increased due to the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East and the need for the EU to develop alternative routes and reduce its economic dependencies.
According to Petrova, hosting the forum can strengthen the country's role as a regional center for connectivity and security. The forum will also be linked to specific infrastructure projects. One of the examples given by the minister is the railway connection with Turkey. According to her, increasing capacity on the Turkish side could create difficulties if the relevant infrastructure in Bulgaria is not developed at the same pace.
„You understand yourself that this will lead to a bottleneck, to a problem on our part for transport“, said Petrova-Chamova. Therefore, among the priorities will be projects that allow the real functioning of international transport corridors through Bulgaria.
The projects will not be limited only to railway transport. The government also plans to focus on road infrastructure, the expansion of existing energy capacities and the possibilities for storing more energy.
„In some cases it is about railway projects, in others - about road infrastructure, and in still others - about expanding the available energy infrastructure or the possibilities for storing more energy“, the minister explained.
Petrova-Chamova stressed that one of the main tasks is to place national infrastructure priorities in a broader European context. According to her, this is particularly important in the negotiations for the next multiannual financial framework of the EU.
„Many of these projects have been priorities for many governments. But why they have not been made and financed so far is a question that still has no answer“, she said.
Therefore, the cabinet's approach is to present their importance not only for Bulgaria, but for the connectivity of the entire EU. According to the Foreign Minister, this is how the country will seek European funding for strategic infrastructure.
The preparation of the meeting envisages the participation of not only political leaders. Petrova-Chamova explained that European, private and other international financial institutions will be attracted to participate in the development of financing models.
The reason is the scale of the projects. “To a large extent, they are extremely expensive and unaffordable for any country to cover them with its own resources“, the Minister pointed out.
According to her, the initiative for hosting is Bulgarian. After Prime Minister Radev placed the political emphasis on connectivity before the President of the EC, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs proposed the specific idea to the Commission, in coordination with the Ministry of Transport. “When the Prime Minister sets the political vision, our job is to find the mechanism for this to happen“, Petrova-Chamova said.
She specified that Bulgaria had insisted that the topic of connectivity should be moved out of expert and ministerial formats and placed at the highest political level. The country has also presented to the European Commission the arguments why Bulgaria could host such a meeting.
The announcement of the forum by Von der Leyen is related to the development of the so-called Middle Corridor between Europe and Asia. According to the goal presented by the EC President, trade flows along it should be tripled by 2030, and transit time should be significantly reduced.