Bulgarian Minister and EU Commissioner discuss research and innovation

Bulgarian Minister of Education and Science, Prof. Georgi Valchev, met with European Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation, Ekaterina Zaharieva, to discuss increasing the participation of Bulgarian universities and scientific organizations in European programs like Horizon Europe.

Key topics included attracting highly qualified scientists to Bulgaria and strengthening the link between science and business. Minister Valchev noted that Bulgaria is implementing measures to stimulate research activity in higher education, mentioning that the number of research universities in the country has increased by two this year.

Commissioner Zaharieva emphasized the importance of research and innovation investments for European competitiveness, despite current budgetary constraints. Discussions also covered the potential creation of a national program to encourage Bulgarian participation in EU research initiatives and a mechanism to fund high-quality projects that passed European evaluation but failed to secure funding. Additionally, officials discussed ensuring the sustainability of research activities following the conclusion of EU-funded projects.