Julia Doitchinova

Socio-economic and environmental parameters and results of rural development under the CAP: the case of Bulgaria

During the ten years of our country’s membership in the EU, the implementation of the Rural Development Programme have become a driving force for raising income and improving living conditions in the rural areas. The purpose of this report is to assess the impact of the CAP on rural development after Bulgaria’s accession to the EU. For this purpose an analysis and evaluation of the state and changes of the socio-economic, and environmental results, and parameters of the rural areas was performed for 2007-2016. The report’s thesis is that rural development depends on the type of farming, its organization and the prerequisites for diversification of the rural economy. Demonstration will use statistical data on demographic, economic and environmental indicators on the rural areas.

THE PROCESS OF CREATING LOCAL ACTION GROUPS IN BULGARIA - PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS

Abstract Local action group (LAG) is a new form of public-private partnership in rural Bulgaria. It is called to mobilize local communities and make it empathetic with the problems of rural development. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the process of setting up local action groups LAG in Bulgaria and based on the analysis of the problems of their operation, to develop guidelines and recommendations for improving implementation of LEADER approach. The paper includes an assessment of the process of creating LAG and presents the results of the study of problems of their operation in different regions of Bulgaria. The study used questionnaire method, structured interviews, strategies and other documents. The conclusions and proposals are derived based on the evaluation of information for 14 LAG on the territory of 21 municipalities in different regions of Bulgaria