The people of Pleven Region are an example that Bulgaria has a civil society like the rest of the European Union, said BTA Director General Kiril Valchev here Wednesday. He was speaking during a local conference organized as part of BTA's Europe on Balkans: Cohesion Skills project.
Valchev recalled that thanks to the National Press Club here, which opened on April 16, 2013, at the initiative of the then Director General Maksim Minchev, Pleven has been part of the joint national and European conversations organized by BTA for 15 years. He noted that from the second half of the last century to the present day, seven people have worked as correspondents for the agency in Pleven. Valchev also pointed out that BTA has tripled its national press clubs and preserved and developed the 14 press clubs opened in the previous 18 years, so that the agency has opened a total of 42 national press clubs. Thanks to them, more Bulgarians from all these places in Bulgaria and abroad are part of the common national and European conversations, Valchev said.
"We usually hear that Bulgaria receives money from the EU and what remains in our minds is that Bulgarians are the ones who benefit from our participation in the EU only. But the truth is that the EU also benefits from Bulgarians, just as it benefits from other European nations. The point of these conferences is to see the contemporary contribution," Valchev stated regarding BTA's Europe on Balkans: Cohesion Skills project.
He emphasized Pleven's contribution to the EU, as he highlighted the protests in the region over the road accident, in which a 12-year-old girl died in April 2025. The people of the Pleven region are an example that Bulgaria has a civil society like in the rest of the EU, Valchev stressed. Protesters demanded immediate and clear timetable and responsible persons for major repairs of specific roads with restrictions on heavy-duty traffic with clearly regulated rest stops for truck drivers, and a change in the law with stricter penalties for drivers in case of violations.
Valchev noted that civil society's activity is giving positive results, pointing out that the number of road deaths on Bulgarian roads has decreased more than threefold from 1990 to 2024. He cited data from the European Commission, according to which Bulgaria is among the top seven EU countries that have made significant progress in reducing road deaths since 2019. "This is still far from the EU average (44 road deaths per million inhabitants), as in Bulgaria it is 74 road deaths per million inhabitants (...), but we must remember where Bulgaria started from before it embarked on a united Europe. Just as we must remember where Bulgaria started from with the state of its roads before it entered the EU. The reduction in road casualties - although insufficient - is also thanks to investments in new roads and especially in highways, a significant part of which are also funded by money from the EU's common funds," Valchev emphasised.
He added that according to data from the European Commission from 2020, just 9% of road deaths occur on highways, while the largest share of people die on rural roads (53%). He stressed however that progress in highway construction in Bulgaria is slow and therefore the protesting civil society is right. "Suffice it to recall that the first sod of the Hemus highway was laid on October 4, 1974 and for 15 years during socialism it reached Pravets through Vitinya, but for 35 years during democracy it did not reach Pleven", Valchev recalled. He also noted that the car fleet in Bulgaria remains old, which is also a factor in many accidents and obviously incentives are needed for its replacement with new cars. He pointed out that BTA set an example with its new 30 electric cars, which are used by reporters in Sofia and correspondents throughout the country.
On the occasion of marking the 146th anniversary of the adoption of the Tarnovo Constitution by the Constituent National Assembly in Tarnovo, Valchev emphasised that the laws and other rules must be respected, which the protesters demand above all.
BTA's Europe on Balkans: Cohesion Skills project aims to raise public awareness and foster open dialogue about cohesion policy, local achievements, and the implementation of the EU's policy priorities. The project kicked off with a conference in Veliki Preslav in November 2024. The schedule of conferences until the end of September 2025 includes events in the following cities: 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 builds on the Europe in the Balkans: A Common Future and Europe in Bulgaria: A Common Future projects, implemented by BTA in 2023 and 2024, respectively.
