site.btaConnectivity Emerges as Europe's Key Priority, Says Head of European Commission Representation

Yordanka Chobanova, Head of the European Commission Representation in Sofia, said that regional connectivity is becoming a key priority for Europe, and the European Commission has proposed doubling the budget of the Connecting Europe Facility for transport. She addressed a plenary session titled Financial Horizon 2026 and held as part of the Annual Meeting of Local Authorities in Albena on Monday. The event is organized by the National Association of Municipalities in the Republic of Bulgaria.

Chobanova said projects enhancing connectivity at the European level, whether in transport or energy networks, will be a very high priority, as they contribute to Europe's overall competitiveness.

She said the European Commission's proposal for the next budget is very different from what Europe is used to. According to Chobanova, Europe is currently striving for its autonomy and faces pressing challenges related to security, migration, energy and competitiveness. She also highlighted a new challenge: artificial intelligence, which she described as truly transformative and capable of creating new winners and losers. The winners, she said, will be those investing in high technology.

The new EC budget proposal requires viewing the EU as a whole rather than as individual member states, Chobanova said. She noted that the proposal is currently under review and will likely undergo modifications, but Bulgaria must prepare for the new model. She urged mayors to focus on strengthening programming capacity, improving organization, and maintaining dialogue with national and European authorities.

Under the EC proposal, Bulgaria is set to receive around EUR 22.3 billion, more than in the current budgetary period, the expert said. She stressed, however, the need for timely absorption of funds. Negotiations are beginning, and comparisons with other member states show that poor absorption weakens a country's position when advocating for a larger budget.

Chobanova recalled that the Recovery and Resilience Facility Annual Report was published a few days ago. Thanks to the Recovery and Resilience Plans, there has been a cumulative GDP growth of around 0.7% across the EU. She explained that the logic of the new budget follows the same principle as the Recovery and Resilience Plans: results and reforms must be achieved before payments are made.

Chobanova added that each member state will have its own national and regional Partnership Plan, tailored to its needs rather than being universal. So far, around 540 programmes with varying rules have existed; the proposal is to simplify them into 27 plans covering agriculture, security, cohesion policies and the Common Agricultural Policy, including farmers' payments, environmental schemes and agricultural investment support.

The expert said that the new budget will also provide funding for crises, including natural disasters and emergencies. According to her, the European Commission proposes setting aside around EUR 400 billion to allow for faster responses in such situations. She noted that priorities will remain clean technologies, the bioeconomy and decarbonization, while the budget for the Erasmus+ Programme will increase by 50%.