National Regional Development Strategy of Republic of Bulgaria 2005-2015.

This National Regional Development Strategy of Republic of Bulgaria, programmd for the period form 2005 unril 2015, represents the unified long-term regional development policy that aims the achievement of dynamic and balanced development of individual planning as regards the Bulgarian regions, mainly aimed at decreasing its regional disparities. It contributes to ensuring equal opportunities for economic development, access to economic resources, higher living standard and favorable living conditions in all the planning regions, mitigation of specific problem situations in the underdeveloped regions for targeted impact and in general for approximation to the standards of development of the EU regions. The long-term policy is aimed at attainment of balance among the different development aspects (economic, social, environmental and spatial) and among the various groups, territorial communities and levels, playing in this way a key role for sustainable development. The Strategy lays the focus on development and highlighting of the major factors of growth and the comparative advantages of the country, namely human capital and good-quality nature environment.
The implementation of this kind of state policy in the field of regional development is based on the following principles: unified approach in planning and programming; concentration of resources for attainment of the goals of regional development; partnership, publicity and transparency at all levels in the process of planning, programming, financing, monitoring and evaluation; supplementing of funding from national public sources through co-financing from other sources; inter-institutional coordination of the activity of the competent bodies in the process of planning and programming, procurement of resources, implementation, monitoring and evaluation; coordination with the other structure-defining policies, instruments and activities at international, national and regional level.
The main goal of the regional development for the period until 2015 is achievement of a sustainable and balanced development of the regions in the Republic of Bulgaria. This main objective is based on the conclusions of the conducted analysis of the current state and the trends in the development of the planning regions and above all on the need to develop and utilize the domestic potential of all planning regions and raise the quality of life there. This goal is in full conformity with the regional development goals formulated in the Regional Development Act of the Republic of Bulgaria. Sustainable economic growth cannot be achieved solely through high dynamics of the development in the economically the strongest planning regions, but also through general improvement of the economic level of the regions and especially of the less developed ones.
The above indicated main goal can be achieved through implementation of the following strategic objectives: attainment of a turning point in the development of Bulgarian planning regions through investments in the physical and human capital and approximation to the average levels of development of the EU regions; decrease of interregional and intra-regional differences through development of indigenous potential at regional and local level; development of territorial co-operation for the attainment of territorial cohesion with the European Union and expansion of good neighborhood and partnership.
The classification of developement priorities identified in this text is here listed: raising regional competitiveness on the basis of a knowledge-based economy; development and improvement of the infrastructure to create conditions for growth and employment; raising the attractiveness of and quality of life in the planning regions; integrated urban development and improvement of the urban environment; development of co-operation for European spatial cohesion, promotion of partnership and good neighbourhood for the purposes of development; strengthening of the institutional capacity at the regional and local level for improvement of the management process.