site.btaPM to Advocate "Industrial Cohesion" in EU Budget Talks

Prime Minister Rumen Radev said on Thursday that he would push for the introduction of the concept of "industrial cohesion" during discussions in Brussels on the European Union’s next Multiannual Financial Framework. Radev was speaking at a meeting with the National Association of Municipalities in the Republic of Bulgaria (NAMRB) ahead of his departure for Brussels for a European Council June 18-19, where he said a key topic of the talks would be the EU’s long-term budget.

According to the Prime Minister, the bloc’s larger and more developed member states, which are the main contributors to European funds, are seeking to shift the focus away from cohesion policy and the Common Agricultural Policy toward security and competitiveness.

Radev said that more than EUR 400 billion is expected to be concentrated in a new competitiveness fund.

He added that Bulgaria would insist on the inclusion of the term “industrial cohesion” in the discussions, arguing that the new resources should not be directed solely toward the most developed member states and the strongest companies.

According to Radev, less-developed countries such as Bulgaria should also benefit from the new funding mechanisms and be integrated into the European Union’s common value chains. He said this would allow Bulgarian companies to participate in major European projects and strengthen their role in the bloc’s industrial development.