The Bulgarian Council on National Security managed to unite the parties in parliament after 8 months of confrontation, protests and demands for the resignation of the government. The Council at the Presidency managed to reach consensus on 8 key priorities for the development of Bulgaria until 2020. This would allow for the discussions on the EC Partnership Agreement for the period 2014-2020 to be finalized.

Bulgaria is expected to receive over 7 billion euro from the EC in the next 7 years. The priorities coincide with those set in the Bulgaria 2020 Strategy and the Europe 2020 Strategy, members of the council said. Bulgarian Prime Minister Plamen Oresharski pointed out that the social and economic conditions in Bulgaria posed a threat for national security. Economic recession, high unemployment, growing gap between rich and poor and extremely low trust in institutions are some of the major issues. Investments in qualification and competitiveness are of great importance for the country, the Prime Minister said. Deputy Prime Minister responsible for EU funds Zinaida Zlatanova presented a report on the progress under the Agreement for Cooperation.

President Rosen Plevneliev pointed out the strategic priorities for development of the country until 2020:

“Improving access and quality of education; reducing poverty and stimulating social inclusion; achieving stable and integrated regional development; development of the agriculture sector; support of innovations; stable and effective institutions; increasing energy security, and improvement of transport links and access to markets.”

The partnership agreement  points out the main prerequisites for stable growth in accordance to the goals of Europe 2020 – education, qualification and employment, investments in science, innovations, competitive small enterprises and green economy.

The members of the council consider important specifying measures in the project agreement for overcoming social inequality, President Plevneliev said and added:

“The members of the Consultative Council on National Security agree that achieving the goals set in the National Strategy for Development - Bulgaria 2020 and the Partnership Agreement will boost economic growth and lead to increasing the living standard of Bulgarians.”

Politicians also agreed that financing allocated for the strategy must be used effectively and transparently. The joint efforts of various parties and institutions are required, too. The Council also offered that the government should organize an information campaign related to the new agreement for European funds.

English version: Alexander Markov