October 12 - A Day to Remember

Daniela Mihovska

Programs and Projects Team Leader

FLGR

Have you ever asked yourself how many people in Bulgaria know that on October 12, 1882, in Veliko Turnovo, the Great National Assembly adopted the first Act on Municipalities in Bulgaria. A new beginning was set. Later, in 1924, another beginning is set: the Union of Bulgarian Cities was established. 72 years later, the National Association of Municipalities in the Republic of Bulgaria was established - far away in time but related to traditions. History s course shows that Bulgarian municipalities have always rediscovered the beginning, giving it a new meaning with regard to Bulgarian local governments hopes. October 12, 1998, was such a day: a holiday named the Day of the Bulgarian Municipality.

The National Association of Municipalities in the Republic of Bulgaria not only presented a holiday to all those who consider local government their field of work, but also endorsed the development of a process for promoting the needs and interests of Bulgarian municipalities. Quite naturally the historic city of Veliko Turnovo became the host of the national celebrations of the Day of the Bulgarian Municipality, and its Mayor, Mr. Dragni Dragnev, and Chairman of the City Council, Mr. Georgi Stefanov, took the considerable task of providing the necessary environment to host the numerous colleagues, friends and supporters of local self-government from all over Bulgaria.

It was exciting to see the ceremonial session of the Board of Directors of the National Association of Municipalities in the Republic of Bulgaria, which took place on the premises of the Great National Assembly. The shiny heavy medallions on mayors chests - symbolizing local government - created a new festive spirit for the guests who were sitting on the same benches on which the first Bulgarian legislators sat. On October 12 of the significance of this historical hall was enriched by several important facts: official announcement was made of the acceptance of the National Association of Municipalities in the Republic of Bulgaria in the great family of the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR); prizes of honor for their contribution to Bulgarian local authorities and self-government were granted to the United States Agency for International Development, the British Know-How Fund, the Swiss and Dutch governments. To all of this I have to add the joy of the whole team of the Foundation for Reform in Local Self-Government, which was honored as the only Bulgarian organization that has provided technical and consulting support and assistance in establishing and developing the National Association of Bulgarian Municipalities.

This holiday was also a time for consideration and work. The restoration of traditions and the reform of local self-government require an in-depth analysis of existing legislation and the frequent practices in its implementation. Such an analysis was done by the participants in the National Practical Conference, to define the National Association s priorities in the area of legislative changes. The regional associations of municipalities presented proposals and opinions of their members, which not only made the conference interesting, but also made it representative from the point of view of the numerous opinions forming the needs and desires of local governments throughout the country. The results from the conference were reviewed by a work group formed especially for this purpose, and its work laid the ground for developing a detailed proposal which is to be adopted at the next meeting of NAMRB s Board of Directors.

One more very important thing happened during the holiday: the understanding and support for several elements of great significance for the development of a strong and independent local government came together, namely, the belief of Bulgaria s President in the significance of this holiday, the willingness of the Council of Ministers and the National Assembly for constructive reforms and openness to new ideas, the cooperation of foreign donors, governments and NGOs and the enthusiasm of elected officials and municipal employees. This holiday gathered them, the future will unite them. A celebration that will be remembered.

Dimitar Kalchev

Chairman of the Board of Directors of the NAMRB,

Mayor of Municipality of Rousse

I would like to thank all municipal councilors, mayors and volunteers who willingly participated and gave their personal contribution to the celebration of the Day of the Bulgarian Municipality. The enormous support for the idea of the National Association of Municipalities in the Republic of Bulgaria, the spontaneous reaction and variety of initiatives in municipal centers all over the country, prove that such a holiday has its place in our lives. I won t list all the events, but would like to mention that they helped to achieve a major goal - promoting the Bulgarian municipality as an institution and showing its role and tasks today, when we build the new democratic structure of government. We saw that the love of Bulgarians for their native regions and municipalities is still alive, that the people have ideas and are ready to participate in their implementation. All this gives us new confidence, and at the same time obliges us to better use the rich municipal potential.

Dialogue is an important feature of democracy. The NAMRB is continuously trying to endorse the democratic principles and is consistently looking for dialogue with the national government, in order to better protect its members interests. During the past period we concentrated our efforts in two major directions: actions aimed at improving the legislative framework of local self-government and attempts to find solutions to specific problems of the municipalities by means of continuos dialogue and interaction with national government bodies.

In the sphere of local self-government legislation, there still exist numerous problems that need solution. NAMRB s members have expressed their willingness for quick changes. This is why from now on our association will aim to change its role in the legislative process from reactive to proactive. This means that the NAMRB will develop its own policy in defined priority areas and will take measures for the implementation of this policy.

The establishment of the NAMRB gave a new dimension to Bulgarian municipalities international contacts. We established contacts with similar foreign and international organizations, provided assistance to individual municipalities in finding partners abroad, gathered and researched significant information on the local government international experience. The association established working relations with the associations of local authorities of Austria, the Netherlands, Denmark, Hungary, Slovakia, Albania and with the National League of Cities in the United States. The NAMRB was accepted as a member of the Council of European Municipalities and Regions and of the International Union of Local Authorities. We have achieved a lot, but we have to say that there is much more to be done to integrate Bulgarian municipalities in the European and world family of local governments.