THE ROLE OF BULGARIAN ASSOCIATION
(NAMRB) IN SUPPORTING EFFECTIVE
AND USEFUL TOWN-TWINNING
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Constitutional Framework
of Local Self Government
Bulgaria is a parliamentary republic with local
self-governance.
The municipality is the main administrative and
territorial unit that is entitled to carry out the local
self government.
The municipality is an independent legal entity
with own property and budget.
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Bulgarian Municipalities
Bulgaria is divided to 264 municipalities.
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Bulgarian Municipality
•Average indicators for a municipality
– territory - 420 sq. km.
– population – 28 thousand.
– settlements - 20
•State capital – 1.3 million inhabitants,
divided in urban areas
•3 municipalities – over 300 000 inhabitants
•11% - from 50 000 to 100 000 inhabitants
•50% - from 10 000 to 50 000 inhabitants
•About 38% - below 10 000 inhabitants
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Structure and bodies of the municipality
MAYOR
Elected in a majority vote for 4 years
MUNICIPAL COUNCIL
MUNICIPALITY
Elected in a proportional vote for 4 years and
consists of the population (from 11 to 61 counsulars)
Mayoralty
Settlements with
population of more than
150 inhabitants
Settlements
with population of 150 and
less inhabitants
Districts
In cities of more than 300
thousands inhabitants –
Sofia, Plovdiv and Varna
Mayor of mayoralty
Elected in a majority vote for 4
years
Represent of the mayor
Appointed by the mayor of
municipality
Mayor of district
Elected in a majority vote for 4
years
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Local self-government competencies:
The municipalities:
•Have local taxes and fees setting authority;
•Organize preparation and implementation of
municipal budget;
• Manage the municipal property – municipal
forests, lands, roads, and buildings, municipal
enterprises;
•Develop and adopt the municipal urban plan,
development strategy and programs;
•Adopt municipal regulations.
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National Association of the Municipalities
in the Republic of Bulgaria
NAMRB – the Beginning
• Established 1996 by 1/3 of all
municipalities
• Since 1999 all 264 municipalities,
including the capital - Sofia are members
of NAMRB
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OUR MISSION
• Strong, responsible, and sustainable local selfgovernance;
• Provision of services for increasing the
competence and capacity of the local authorities;
• Expansion of the efficient partnership with the
central power authorities and other Bulgarian and
foreign associations
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National Association of the Municipalities in the
Republic of Bulgaria
1.
Lobbying and advocacy
•
•
Granted powers under over 11 Laws;
Representatives of NAMRB in over 111 intergovernmental Working
Groups, Monitoring Committees, etc.
Budget Negotiations with Ministry of Finance
Decentralization Program and participation in Council of Decentralization
Agreement signed with the Council of Ministers;
Municipal lobby in Parliament;
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2.
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Services for members
Training - Introductory trainings: In the beginning of every new
mandate: trainings for newly elected officials: mayors and presidents of
municipal councils; every year: trainings on the annual budget; on the new
legislation; on key topics from the municipal reform; citizen participation,
transparency, anticorruption measures and accountability to voters;
trainings in cooperation with our national and international partner
organizations, including universities and research institutes;
Publications
Consultations in different fields of activity, mainly on legal and fiscal
problems.
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NAMRB Training Center
for Local Authorities
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2005 – 2007: Creation of NAMRB Local Authorities Training Center. The
government gave up the old state property to NAMRB - full renovation of the
base with recourses of NAMRB, USAID and other donors;
Functioning: since the end of 2007;
Main characteristics of the Training Center:
- Training premises with six well equipped training halls;
- Accommodation facilities with capacity: 70 beds;
- Restaurant;
- Administrative building;
- Fitness center, sports ground (under construction);
Structural unit of NAMRB staff with mixed team – at place and in Sofia;
The Training center provides workshops and seminars for professional
development and building of strong capacity for local governments, their
partners from the state administration and non-governmental organizations;
Excellent conditions for international trainings
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NAMRB - INTERNATIONAL

Active participation in CoR and CoE

Cooperation with kin organizations from Europe,
USA, etc;

Leader in the Network of Local authorities’
associations in SEE (NALAS);

Member of European and world organizations of
local authorities.
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What role does the NAMRB plays
within the twinning process?
• 1998 – NAMRB started coordinating the EU
twinning programme
• 1998 – 2003 – NAMRB supported over 40 twinnings
that were aimed at the following topics: exchange of
citizens’ initiatives, inter-school and youth exchange,
economic development, social partnership, cultural
exchange, social integration for disadvantaged people.
• 2004-2011
– Diversifying the forms of cooperation
– Transfer from bi-lateral to multi-lateral partnerships
– Over 100 new partnerships.
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The role of the Association – upto date database
• Developing a database about:
– Existing town-twinnings – 530
• Over 50 countries
• 255 town-twinnings with European municipalities
• The most twinnings - Russia (78), Romania (49), Turkey (49),
Greece (48), Macedonia (34)
• The furthest - China, Mexico, US, Mongolia, Egypt, Venezuela
– How is it build up?
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•
•
•
By topic
By countries
By existing twinnings
By potential partners
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The role of the Association – upto date database
• Main areas of town-twinning cooperation
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Culture and art
Youth activities
Tourism
Education
Local economical development and sport
• Main challenges to reaping the benefits of town-twinning
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Insufficient financial resources
Capacity to project preparation
Insufficient information about the partner
Distance between partners
Finding the right partner
Old ‘tourist’ traditions
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The role of the Association –
mediator
• As a mediator – constant and diverse methods to presenting Bulgarian
municipalities to potential partners abroad:
– Identifying the right foreign partners – through its network with other
LGAs
– Participating in municipalities’ fairs – FYROM, France, China, Turkey,
Brussels, etc.
– Preparing materials
– Special meetings with foreign ambassadors – France, Holland, Finland,
others.
– Providing information to Bulgarian embassies abroad
– As a member of international associations
• NALAS – e.g. the case of Lom municipality
• Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR)
– Promoting Bulgarian municipalities
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The role of the Association – attracting
financial support
• The EU programme “Europe for Citizens (2007-2013)
- Trainings for municipalities to develop project applications to
participate in the Programme
– Contacts with partners
• NAMRB + Foreign embassies initiatives and programmes
– NAMRB and French embassy initiated the Bulgarian – French
partnership on decentralized cooperation
• Technical assistance from the French embassy, French experts and
NAMRB staff
• 6 projects on sustainable development and institutional support –
provided financing = 98 000 Euros
• 11 Bulgarian municipalities partnered with 6 French = 5 new town
twinnings. Altogether 20 existing partnerships.
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The role of the Association – providing
means to financial support
• NAMRB and VNG initiated the LOGO
East I and LOGO East II
– Exchange of best practices through towntwinning projects in the areas of:
• Transport system, water management, e-governance,
social services.
• 6 new town twinnings – Bulgarian + Dutch + Czech
– Total financing provided – 580 000 Euros
– Specific trainings in town-twinning
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The role of the Association –
experts network
• “Support measures” project – co-financed through
the “Europe for citizens” programme (2009) = 50
000 EUR
• Project’s goals
– Endorsing the concept of town-twinning amongst
Bulgarian municipalities
– Initiating new and further developing existing towntwinnings
– Improving the quality of existing town-twinnings
– Enhancing the skills of experts responsible for towntwinning
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The role of the Association –
experts network
• “Twinning between European cities: bridge between young people ”
project – co-financed through the “Europe for citizens” programme
(2011) = 80 000 EUR
• Project’s overall goal
– The overall aim of the project is a sustainable ignition of a youthparticipation-movement. In cooperation with our partners (Association of
Municipalities in the Republic of Croatia and Andalusian Fund of
Municipalities for International Solidarity) and the involved municipalities
the awareness of young people shall be raised and a process of active
participation shall be installed, in order to animate young people to take
over responsibility for their own future on the spot. In addition to that one
aim could be the detection of livelihood of young people to prevent the
rural depopulation and migration to congested areas and big cities. Within
the implementation of the project, existing and further twinning
cooperations between municipalities might be aroused.
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Further models to promoting
town-twinning
• Bulgarian-Russian experience
– Bi-annual national events of the twinned towns
• Plenary session
• Local visits to the partners
• Cross-boarder cooperation programmes
– Representatives of NAMRB are members of the Monitoring Committees
– Preparing of municipal positions about upcoming meetings
– Finding partners
• Contact groups
– Organizing internal and external meetings and events between
local and foreign mayors interested in town-twinning, e.g. visit of
Japanese mayors in Bulgaria, visit of Bulgarian mayors at the 2nd
Town twinning meeting in China
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How to enhance the effectiveness and
benefits of town-twinning?
The Association must:
– Provide information about the country specific local
self-government legislation
– Identify topics of mutual interest to benefit the partners
– Advanced information about opportunities to external
financing, e.g. available EU programmes
– Actively use the town-twinning website –
www.twinning.org
– Disseminate local and foreign best practices
– Introducing annual town-twinning awards – “Welcome
to the nominations!”
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THANK YOR FOR YOUR
ATTENTION!
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF MUNICIPALITIES IN THE REPUBLIC
OF BULGARIA
1111 Sofia
23, Golash str.
tel. (+359 2) 9434 467; 9434 468
fax (+359 2) 9434 431
e-mail: namrb@namrb.org
web: http://www.namrb.org
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