The territory of Bulgaria is divided into six planning regions, each covering several areas. They are important for shaping the policies that would be backed with EU funding. According to European legislation, in order to have a region, 800,000 to 3 million people must live there.

Two of the planning regions – the Northwest and Central-North, are marked by particularly severe depopulation, which raises debates over the need of a new territorial division of the country. Despite the agreement reached with Eurostat to maintain the current regional structure in the next European planning period (2021-2027), the topic continues to be in the focus of observers of demographic and economic processes. In the course of this series of articles, we talked about the current situation in these regions and the need for reforms with analyst at the Market Economics Institute, Adrian Nikolov:

"There are several options for planning regions. I think the best option is having West, Central and East regions. This puts us both economically and demographically in an equilibrium position in which these three regions would be able to sustain the requirements of population and economic development in the medium term."

If you had to recommend the Northwest region to a foreign investor, what would you say about it?

"We must not forget the proximity of the Danube. The Bulgarian economy is increasingly focused on its economic and trade relations with Western Europe. The Danube, as a transport corridor that leads directly to the heart of Europe, can be an asset for these regions. Transportinggoods produced in Plovdiv or Stara Zagora to the river ports is quite difficult, given the difficult connections across the Balkan Mountain. If there was production in Montana, Vratsa or Vidin, then option for river transport would be great. The proximity of Romania should also be pointed out. But aside from low wages and the interesting geographical location, the Northwest doesn't have many positives."

Let's talk about the Central North Region – what are its weaknesses and strengths?

"It depends on which parts of it we're talking about. According to national statistics in VelikoTurnovo, the employment of people eligible to work is 81%, i.e. anyone who wants to have a job there, has one.

A very serious development opportunity would be the construction of a highway that connects Ruse (on the Danube bank) and Svilengrad (southern Bulgaria, where three borders – Turkey, Greece and Bulgaria meet), across the Balkan Mountain Range. Thanks to the traffic coming from Turkey and the strong industrial production in Gabrovo, Sevlievo and Veliko Tarnovo, there is a big potential. In Pleven, education is the key – the Medical University in the city could be positioned as a relatively accessible university offering European diplomas. Each of these regions has its own characteristics that could push it in one direction or the other."

It is no exception that small municipalities outgrow their district centers when it comes to development. What is the role of the municipal administration?

“The emergence of a large and strong company can very quickly change the whole situation in a municipality. The municipality of Letnitsa, in the region of Lovech, currently has some of the highest salaries in Bulgaria (BGN 1425, which is 18% above the national average) due to an investor who decided to produce sports goods there. Such an investment couldcompletely overturn the economy of a municipality that was previously in the periphery of economic development. In this sense, the ability of the municipal administration to show that it has the potential to attract the first investor, who then attracts more, is very important,” Adrian Nikolovtold to Radio Bulgaria.

The series of articles dedicated to Bulgarian regions continues next Wednesday, when the development of eastern Bulgaria will be in our focus.

English: Alexander Markov