European Committee of the Regions

European instruments do not sufficiently support local authorities and SMEs, and the representatives of the member states participating in the Brussels decision-making process must listen more to the voice of the local public authorities, Minister Delegate for European Affairs Victor Negrescu told a Friday's specialist conference.

A high level conference dedicated to "EU cohesion policy: post-2020 perspectives for convergence and sustainable regions" will be held on 8 June 2018 at the National Palace of Culture in Sofia. The event will be the first public debate on the proposal for the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) 2021-2027, which was announced in May.

The conference "Intelligent Specialization and Transfer of Technologies as Drivers of Innovation for Regional Growth" will be held at the National Palace of Culture in Sofia.

The first plenary session of the informal meeting of EU Health Ministers in Sofia is under way. It will be dedicated to the healthy nutrition for children, one of the priorities of the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the EU in the health sector.

Expect more details later.

The informal meeting of the ministers responsible for competitiveness in sections "Industry" and "Research" will be held on 1 and 2 February 2018. The meeting for the "Industry" section will be presided over by the Minister of Economy, Emil Karanikolov, and the "Research" section - by the Minister of Education and Science, Krasimir Valchev.   

 „Industry" section - 1 February 2018

The Sofia metro is "an exemplary project" of transparent and effective use of EU structural funds, city mayor Yordanka Fandakova has said during visits to metro sites with Markku Markkula, President of the European Committee of the Regions.