The new National Housing Strategy is expected to be ready by the end of 2027. A procedure is underway to create a new strategic document in accordance with the current socio-political, socio-economic and demographic conditions and problems in the country, consistent with current housing policies and efforts to ensure housing affordability in the European Union. It is planned to be valid until at least 2040. The goal is to create the framework for a national housing policy for the entire population. This became clear at a meeting of the Deputy Ministers of Regional Development and Public Works Pavleta Pelovska and Desislava Georgieva with the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe Michael O’Flaherty and his team.
In her speech, Deputy Minister Pelovska emphasized that the MRDPW is guided by the principles of the rule of law, proportionality and respect for human dignity. “The policy of the ministry is aimed at all Bulgarian citizens“, she emphasized. And she drew attention to the active dialogue of the ministry with various bodies and mechanisms of the Council of Europe in the field of human rights. Some examples of this are the participation of the MRDPW in the dialogue within the framework of the evaluation visit of the European Commission against racism and intolerance and in the process of implementing the recommendations under the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities.
“With EU funds, we are building on the efforts at the national level“, said Deputy Minister Georgieva. She informed about the investments in energy efficiency and housing infrastructure under the “Development of Regions“ 2021-2027 Program and the “Regions in Growth“ 2014 - 2020 Operational Program. In the current programming period, nearly 90 million euros have been allocated for energy efficiency of the existing housing stock and 29.35 million euros for the construction of new energy-efficient buildings. Just over 17 million euros are planned for housing infrastructure, and for other social infrastructure that contributes to social inclusion in the community – about 70 million euros. Under the OPRD 2014 - 2020, 18 social housing projects were implemented for about 22 million euros.
“Thanks to the investment, 854 homes in urban areas have been renovated. This has improved the housing conditions of 1,688 representatives of marginalized groups“, added Deputy Minister Georgieva. She assured that the support will continue after 2027. “In the context of European funding, we have established good practices for coordinating infrastructure measures with measures for the provision of social services, in order to provide comprehensive solutions to problems in the social sphere. "Additional work with local authorities is needed to create incentives and capacity for more projects, to have a broad public consultation and to better understand the issues before implementing infrastructure measures," she concluded.
Commissioner O'Flaherty welcomed the ministry's cooperation with local authorities. Discussions on relevant topics will continue.