Integration perspectives for improving regional policy in rural areas of Bulgaria

Some authors predict that the new farms will mostly be organised as family farms. Mostly they will be inherited from a previous generation (Hayes, 2014). Also, new farms are generally more crop-based than animal-based. This necessitates the implementation of a specific regional policy for individual entities and settlements on the earth's surface, which creates a territorial system that includes settlements, territories of economic activity, recreation areas, territories with a special status. Thus, chronological changes that occur as a result of the interaction of the population by territoriality, as well as the internal content of the process unfolding on the territory, are of great importance for the implementation of regional policy (Boyadzhiev, 1995). This approach entails applying the concept of place as an approach or study of location in space. Such is the basic meaning (eng. location in space) given by von Wright (1983) in his “Logic of Place”. He explores the differences between modal concepts in the temporal and spatial systems of formal logic and bases his system on spatial logic (“near”, “somewhere”, and “somewhere else”). Ramon (1994) later developed von Wright's system of formal logic by adding the aspect of distance. On the other hand, Casati & Varzi (1999) refer to a “place” as a region in space that has an address. In this direction, rural areas are specific holographic areas on which it is necessary to conduct a regional development policy. Thus, we can assume that regional development in rural areas represents a synthesis between economic, social, geographical, mathematical, technical, and ecological aspects of the development of settlements and their lands, to improve management, coordination, and control at the regional and local level (Trono & Castronuovo, 2016). All these aspects are directly related to the localisation of production and non-production spheres, the settlement network and settlements, technical, production, and social infrastructures, resource and market security, ecological balance, rational utilisation of outside settlement territories, the governance and self-governance of regional communities and society as a whole.

According to Blakely & Bradshaw (2002), regional development is “a process by which local government and/or socially formed groups manage their available resources (natural, labour, capital, investment, transport, communications, production activities, technology, external markets, national and international conditions, local government capacity, etc.) to create new jobs and stimulate economic activity in a clearly defined economic area”. It becomes clear that in this case regional development is seen primarily as local development, local policy, or planning related to a specific territory (Beer et al., 2003). Regional development is seen as a process of achieving sustainable and balanced development by channelling resources, infrastructural construction, and economic activities in certain areas. connects this development process with the regional development policy, which is an element of the structural policy of the state (Geneshki, 2000). In rural areas, the main problem remains the importance of the social infrastructure in the space ensuring a harmonious and, under certain conditions, an optimal development process of life in rural areas and entire regions and spaces. Thus, authors such as Glaeser & Redlick (2009) assume, that social infrastructure spending can be important for relatively troubled regions to discourage migration, and increase birth rates, thus encouraging investment in social infrastructure. According to Brink (2004), social infrastructure consists of “institutions and government policies that define the economic environment in which individuals accumulate skills and firms accumulate capital and produce output”. According to Soares (2004), social infrastructure has the positive role of preventing the devaluation and depersonalisation of territories. The social infrastructure also preserves the demographic resources of the territory. The spatial formation of social infrastructure ensures a high quality of life for the individual and the entire society. Social infrastructure affects not only the economy in a given space, but also the efficiency of production processes (Patyka et al., 2021). Large differences are found in the social sphere of the territories, which is why it is necessary to conduct an effective regional policy with a social orientation. These differences are a major problem of social development and ongoing social reform, influencing the formation of new social management models. These social models include other new problems expressed in the social sphere and its development. The social sphere indirectly influences and creates imbalances in the social development of any territory (Osypova et al., 2023).

The main research thesis of the authors is that the regional policy in Bulgaria does not solve the existing territorial differences and it must be redefined theoretically, strategically and normatively in order to also respond to the processes of transformation in the European Union.

Methodology. The present paper is primarily theoretical, the authors use a normative and systematic approach to research the main trends in the development of regional policy. A regional policy aims to reach the economic, social, and administrative standards planned in strategic documents, tied to a specific time interval. The analyses carried out, the summaries drawn about the factors predetermining the territorial organisation of the social sphere, and the geographical analysis of its state were carried out by collecting, processing, and visualising statistical information from local, regional, and national sources. A widely used method of evaluation is the reference to questionnaire surveys that have the appropriate representative character. Through them, existing similarities and differences in demographic, social, and economic development in rural areas are established. Statistical methods make it possible to establish the distribution of the population by number, age, marital and educational structure, place of residence, and family status, to determine migration flows and their intensity. For example, the conclusion about the aging of the population in rural areas can be seen from the answer to the question, how old are farmers.

Figure 5. Assessment of the development of the region and agriculture over the last 10 years (local government views). Source: built based on the Report of National Statistical Institute for the period 2020-2022

regional policy rural bulgaria integration european union

Thus, in the society in which we live, the main argument for an unsatisfactory assessment of rural areas remains the weak infrastructure, the “small subsidies for agriculture”, another problem is the need to commodify it, as well as “the large migration of the rural population to the cities”. But in general, from the data in Figure 5, it can be assumed that nearly 65% of the respondents have positive attitudes towards positive change. Of course, the share of 35% who rate the regional development in the last 10 years as unsatisfactory is not a small percentage and it has its weight. Old problems remain, such as the aging of the population and the need for people at a young age, leading to problems in employment and the overall functioning of the social system in rural areas. The elderly population requires systematic care regarding health and purely domestic needs when the elderly cannot take care of themselves. For this, in municipalities with a higher percentage of elderly population, the level, variety, quality, and accessibility of social services offered are of particular importance (Valkov, 2018). The urban structure is important for the development of rural areas. Another example is that in Bulgaria there are 39 municipalities (or 15% of all municipalities) which are composed only of villages and 326,806 inhabitants live in them according to the data of National Statistical Institute, or in other words 4% of the country's population. The largest is the municipality of Rhodopi, Plovdiv region with 32,602 people, and the smallest is Treklyano, Kyustendil region - with 629 people (Table 1).

Table 1

Profile of Rhodopi region

Source: formed based on the Report of National Statistical Institute for the period 2020-2022.

A large part of these municipalities has their administrative centre in the surrounding cities. This raises the question of how far they are capable of providing quality services to their population, including social, educational, and administrative, for which considerable financial resources are required. At the same time, their territory is relatively large, for example, the municipalities of Tundzha, Rhodopi, Maritsa, Kirkovo, etc., and in the event of a hypothetical unification of these common areas with their neighbouring large cities, one coherent area would be obtained, providing quality social and administrative services for its population, possessing more resources for the development of infrastructure (transportation, water supply, etc.) and economically expedient.

Another significant problem remains the optimisation of the administrative- territorial structure. It represents a consciously conducted activity of dividing the territory of the country into territorial communities and creating the relevant territorial bodies in them. Administrative-territorial units are built by the historical, geographical, economic, social, demographic, and ecological conditions of the territory, and rural areas do not always coincide with the territorial characteristics. Local self-government is part of the state system. It is a basic form of the territorial organisation of any country, which is built on the principles of democracy.

The system of decentralisation implies that part of the state administration is given to the local self-government bodies. The achievement of modern local self-government is always an expression of the decentralisation of state power (Varga, 2021; Siryk et al., 2021). The financial stability of the municipalities improves the social policy, which in turn is aimed at increasing the quality of life and creating favorable conditions for the development of the social sphere. Municipal budgets must actively show that they are committed and consistent in their actions regarding the development of the social sphere. The disappearance of small settlements leads to the bareness of the territory, makes the economy and the whole public life more expensive, and hinders the modern regional development of the country (Dimov, 2008).

Most still have not understood that the main capital is people. Despite any claims at the national and supranational level (EU) for convergence, for cohesion between territorial units, the truth is exactly the opposite (Saglam Qelikoz et al., 2022). Continued growing differences between territorial units and individual settlements are holding back the modernisation of the country, hindering its socio-economic development (Boyadzhiev, 2011). In this direction, an interesting functioning of the network of small and medium-sized towns is developed evenly throughout the territory of the country, which is favourable in terms of serving the rural areas around them. However, the decreasing population in these cities and the difficulties in realising their economic and socio-cultural functions an alarming phenomenon and require serious efforts to stabilise them. The geographical proximity of cities to villages is a factor that should be well used in the future, as it creates opportunities for improving the “city- rural” relationship and for turning small towns into support centres of the settlement network, serving rural areas with the offer of a wide range of social services. Another important element of the implementation of policies for the regional development of these regions is the Program for the implementation of activities in the regions for targeted support, which is aimed at increasing the employment of the population and attracting investments in the economically lagging regions of the country. A Targeted Investment Program is also being developed to support the development of North-West Bulgaria, the Rhodopes, Strandja, mountainous, semi -mountainous, and border underdeveloped regions. The targeted intervention of the state is to help overcome key problems such as negative demographic processes, strong internal and external migration processes, lack of jobs and low incomes, limited access, and low quality of public services offered (Dimov, 2008). One of the main principles in the formulation and implementation of regional development policy is the principle of concentration of resources to achieve regional development goals. The principle of concentration of resources is applied with the main goal of overcoming established disparities and differences in the degree of economic, infrastructural, and social development. The aim of the Local Initiative Groups (LAG) in rural areas of Bulgaria is to create conditions for promoting regional development and sharing public capacity between municipalities. So, the following Table illustrates the structure of the LAG in the past program period of 2014-2020.

Table 2

Profile of Local Initiative Groups by 2022

Source: own calculation based on Agricultural report of Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of Bulgaria - 2018, 2019, 2020.

By the end of 2023, 66 LAGs have been built, including 119 municipalities with a population of about 1.6 million people and covering over 58 thousand square km of the territory of Bulgaria. It is expected that around 30 -35 more municipalities will be able to realise the possibilities of building “Local Action Groups”. The purpose of these LAGs is to show how local authorities in partnership with businesses and citizens can build capacity to manage financial resources themselves to achieve sustainable economic growth, as well as to implement initiatives between two or more municipalities. In general, this example shows that there is a basis available from the European Union for the development of the regions, but they are also tied to many commitments, which for local business and public administration are perceived as a difficulty.

We can summarise that there are a large number of strategic and planning documents that support the spatial development and functioning of the social sphere. But we believe that changes in municipal polici es are necessary, with their activity being directed to the preparation of effective local strategies or plans, tailored to their conditions and the available demographic resources to improve the functioning social sphere.

Existing and functioning strategic documents are a good basis for planning and implementing policies aimed at providing conditions for a normal life for people. But it is even more important that they are implemented that measures and activities for their implementation are scheduled and that results are achieved that are visible and tangible for the local population.

The implementation of regional development policies in rural areas should be based on four priority directions:

1) care for children and families at risk;

2) social inclusion of vulnerable groups;

3) disadvantaged persons and

4) care for the elderly.

This policy in rural areas should rest on a social policy aimed at providing basic life rights to disadvantaged people and retirement is an important factor for social security in the state (Mytelka & Goertzen, 2013).

There is a need to mitigate the negative consequences of the market economy through public redistribution of resources and services and provision of state social services. Ensuring access to services, and especially access to basic health, education, and social services, is another key tool for overcoming the effects of poverty. It is the access to education and healthcare that is crucial for the social security.

A low level of education is one of the main factors causing poverty and social insecurity. Therefore, equal access to education for all children, regardless of their social status, ethnicity, and specific needs, is of key importance for the prevention of social security. In this regard, the main challenges in this area are related to reducing early school leaving, and ensuring equal access of vulnerable groups, including vulnerable ethnic groups and children with disabilities, to quality education in a general education environment. At the same time, against the general background, it is noticeable that the rural areas continue to lag behind the urban areas in the country in their economic development. In this regard, based on a survey of agricultural producers, it is clear that nearly 97.6 thousand companies are engaged in agricultural activity, employing 501 thousand people or about 25% of all employed in the country in 2022. The same values with small changes are also noticeable in the following years. The share of companies is of the type of micro-companies and number about 90,000, which employ about 170,000 people. The density of companies in rural areas is 34 companies per thousand population, which is almost twice as low as in urban areas - 61, which directly corresponds to the different rates of socio-economic development and modelling of regional development. In this direction, the regularity can be deduced that investments and labor productivity in the rural economy are lower compared to urban areas. This is particularly relevant in the fi eld of agriculture, where the lag is greatest. This gives us reason to assume that the economy of rural areas has a low degree of diversification and different infrastructure (Madjarova et al., 2013).

The synthesis of the results of the analysis indicates the need for new approaches in the regional policy of Bulgaria. The different territorial potentials of the regions must be determined and mobilized to achieve sustainable economic growth and job creation in the EU. Every region and city can commit and contribute to energy savings, decentralised energy supply, and reducing the effect of climate change, for example by supporting the development of settlements with low or zero greenhouse gas emissions, developing potential new sources of energy, and promoting the energy efficiency of the building stock. Our cities and regions must become more resilient to climate change. This means that regional policy in the European Union must be effectively applied to territorial development (Koteva et al., 2008). On the other hand, strategies for individual development of settlements and regions must be more clearly integrated into the national and European context. Regional, national, and local problems must be defined and solved. This is particularly true for rural development policy, environment and transport policy, and EU cohesion policy. We can summari se that the regional policy is aimed at the regions and settlements in the EU, which seeks to achieve an increase in economic growth, and quality of life through education and sustainable strategic investments. In addition, regional policy can be perceived as a policy of regulatory impact. As we know, regional development policy is aimed at improving the environment and conditions, which is related to socio-economic changes resulting in a higher quality of life. In this sense, regional policy can support the process of regulating social, economic, and environmental processes at the local level through the process of programming and creating a favourable environment for investments (Tsonkov, 2022). In Bulgaria, regional policy has more of an institutional meaning than a donor approach. In practice, the legal framework answers several issues related to territorial planning and regional development, but the planning process is not sufficiently regulated either in the Law on Regional Development or in the Law on Territorial Planning. It is necessary to link the content of the development plans with the national and regional planning schemes in more detail, to set deadlines and control by the state. In Bulgaria, it is necessary to proceed with the optimisation of the legislation, as well as the simplification of several regulatory processes and regimes to create conditions for the development of regional business and increase the regional economic activity of the population in the country (Valkov, 2018).

A significant deficit in Bulgaria is that the planning regions do not have their financial resources. The district administrations receive funds only for their current activities but do not have the financial resources for the implementation of district plans for regional development. The formation of municipal revenues is a very centralised process and, in general, revenues are limited in quantity. For this reason, local authorities are assessed as not a particularly reliable partner in the co-financing of projects.

The pragmatic consideration of regional development policy is not so much a direct distribution of resources, but above all a coordination of sectoral policies and actions and directing them toward solving regional problems. Therefore, the key factor for the success of regional development plans is the achievement of an integrated approach and effective use of resources, as well as the coordination of sectoral policies. In this direction, if we look at the regional structure of GDP in Bulgaria (Figure 6), we will notice the need for support from the state to direct more investments to certain regions that need support. However, there is a hidden picture here, which shows that the South-West region is leading, but this is because it is home to the city of Sofia, which is the absolute leader in the national economy. The other regions should implement effective regional policies to at least promote the inclusive socio-economic development of rural areas within them.

We can assume that the implementation of the regional development policy is a key tool for reducing the differences between the regions in Bulgaria and the European Union.

Figure 6. Regional structure of Bulgaria's GDP for the period 2018-2020. Source: built based on data of the statistical bulletin of National Statistical Institute and authors' calculations

It is necessary to understand that the regional policy should stimulate the regional economy by increasing the regional GDP levels, and especially by controlling the migration processes. These processes can be encouraged through the implementation of “Regional operational programs”, a changed normative and regulatory environment, the creation of innovative technological zones and the promotion of the development of agriculture throughout the country (Koteva et al., 2008). Production of food products and raw materials for the food, textile and other industries can outline new perspectives for several rural areas in Bulgaria. In addition, it is necessary to study in detail the experience of most EU countries in dealing with regional problems and solutions for rural development. The priority of the regional policy in the rural areas is to create conditions for the opening of new jobs related to the prevention of urbanisation problems and labor migrations in the big cities.

In Bulgaria, the classic model of regional policy, which is based on exogenous growth, prevails. This implies the attraction of external resources to the region to assist in its development or functioning. These are usually the resources of the state budget, subsidies or programs of the state, as well as the opportunities of foreign investors. In the countries of the European Union, exogenous growth is becoming more and more important. It is based on the stimulation of the development of the region's resources for growth, as well as the attraction of structurally determining investments by the available strengths of the respective regional community.

It is necessary to prepare the corresponding passport in each region or administrative-territorial unit, which should include the following indicators: population; infant mortality rate; total number of residential areas per capita; educational structure of the population; employed population by sectors and industries; total GDP and by industry; industrial production by sectors; the number of production units by industry and size; the level of foreign investment by industry; unemployment rate by duration and age group; labour force participation rate; the level of energy consumption; agricultural production; the number of subscriptions to mobile and landline phones; the total length of modernised roads; the number of private cars; the percentage of households connected to the water supply network; percentage of the population with secondary and higher education; percentage of the treated industrial waste; the level of water and air pollutants in the specified areas. In the evaluation process, very specific results should be noted and recorded, inclu ding the development of individual areas and municipalities within them, as well as cooperation between central and local authorities. In this direction, National plans for regional development and plans for integrated development of municipalities must have predefined goals covering all areas in which specific achievements are expected.

Deducing the need for a regional policy shows that in the new conditions, the country needs a combination of theory, practice, and effective management of regional development, which necessitates updating and modernising the conceptual apparatus and methodology. In this direction, we consider it important to introduce the concept of “guaranteed sustainable regional growth” as a condition for dynamic equilibrium in the regional economy, consistent with the minimum needs for the socio-economic development of the individual territorial community. The other concept that we can introduce is “natural regional growth”, which is based on the accumulated life tradition in the development of the individual territorial community and shows the real state of the socio-economic development of the respective territorial community.

This necessitates the introduction of three main levels of strategic documents in Bulgaria's regional policy - national, regional, and municipal level, and the local authorities will develop a plan for the integrated development of the municipality in the medium term for a period of 16 years. The plan should have three stages of 5 years each, and the last year for 6 essays to prepare a municipal document “Evaluation and monitoring of the municipal plan for integrated development in the medium term ”, and the other 6 months to work on the new plan for the next period. The purpose of such a change could be to tie the planned investments to the budget, because so far at the regional level it is difficult to achieve the effect of added value from the projects. After all, most of them are difficult to realise, and the rest do not have the necessary effect. This necessitates the creation of Regional Municipal Development Directorates to support the processes and supervise the implementation of development plans and programs. Thus, these administrative structures will also provide methodical assistance and support to the process of assessment and decision-making for investments at the regional level, as well as for the determination of various sources of financing.

It is necessary that the programs and activities that support rural areas have the relevant specificity and are aimed at the local economic potential in the direction of: clarifying the specific situation and needs of the respective region; provision of diverse funds for investments, on on the basis of which it is possible to create a development strategy and identify specific policies that will affect labor resources and reduce emigration; tracking the changes during the “life cycle of the programs” looking at them over the years, what part of the local population they have reached, which will certainly require a proper evaluation of the effect of the programs.

Discussion

In the modern nation-state, various instruments and policies are used for influence. In our case, we can assume that the implementation of regional policy in rural areas should be segmented and targeted with the imposition of a system of measures and activities to support local development and increase the capacity of human capital. In this context, the need for expert decisions related to the management of regional development comes to the fore. The opportunity to impose the profession of the regionalist in regional politics is necessitated by the need to solve a group of problems related to the management, technical, and financial problems of the spatial development of the territory at the national, regional, and local levels.

At the same time, the implementation of the regional policy must achieve the necessary balance between efficiency, rationality, and sustainability, so that it is carried out naturally during the development of rural areas and their settlements. This can be done through the balance between the population, the economy, and the space in which they are located. This balance is the basic, fundamental one, which is responsible for the effectiveness of the regional policy and which determines the vitality and development prospects of the individual territorial communities (Dmytriieva & Sviatets, 2023; Khirivskyi et al., 2022).