The Bulgarian Parliament calls on the European Union to recognize the Black Sea region as equivalent to the other regions bordering Ukraine, Belarus or Russia, when determining priorities in cohesion policy. This is stated in a draft declaration submitted by four parliamentary formations - GERB-SDF, "BSP-United Left", "There is such a people" and "DPS-New Beginning" - on the last plenary day before the summer vacation on July 31.
The draft, published on the website of the National Assembly, is in response to the mid-term review of cohesion policy proposed by the European Commission. It urges the EU institutions - the European Parliament and the Council - to include the Black Sea region in legislative and programming documents as a priority, on a par with other strategic eastern regions.
The document instructs the Council of Ministers to uphold this position both during the current review and in the negotiations on the next multiannual financial framework for the period 2028-2034.
The text states that the proposed legislative package "Modernized Cohesion Policy" provides for changes that will apply both until the end of the current programming period and in the next financial framework. The National Assembly emphasizes the importance of these changes for the sustainable economic development of Bulgaria.
During a meeting of the parliamentary Committee on European Affairs in early July, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Innovation and Growth Tomislav Donchev stated that Bulgaria will defend the traditional goals of cohesion policy in the upcoming European negotiations. According to him, it should remain an instrument for compensating for macroeconomic imbalances resulting from the functioning of the common market.
"Whatever criticism there may be, it works. Our position is that we must preserve the original, initial goal," the Deputy Prime Minister emphasized at the time.