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The National Association of Municipalities in the Republic of Bulgaria (NAMRB), the French National Movement of Local Elected Representatives (MNEL) and the Énergie France–Bulgarie Association (EFB) signed a Declaration of Friendship and Cooperation in Sofia on 22 October. The document lays the foundations for partnerships between Bulgarian and French local authorities, exchanges of practical experience and joint initiatives.

The declaration was signed during the first visit by a delegation of French mayors and experts from the Île-de-France region. The signatories representing the three organisations were NAMRB Executive Director Silvia Georgieva, MNEL President and Mayor of Le Plessis-Robinson Philippe Pemezec, and EFB President Franck Leducq.

The meeting was hosted by Ivo Dimov, Vice-Chair of the NAMRB Management Board and Mayor of Dimitrovgrad; Madlena Boyadzhieva, member of the NAMRB Management Board and Mayor of Teteven; and Silvia Georgieva, NAMRB Executive Director. The visit builds on contacts established during a NAMRB delegation’s visit to Île-de-France in December 2025, facilitated by the Énergie France–Bulgarie Association.

The delegation visiting Bulgaria includes Philippe Pemezec, President of MNEL and Mayor of Le Plessis-Robinson; Geoffroy Boulard, Mayor of the 17th arrondissement of Paris and Vice-President of the Greater Paris Metropolitan Authority; Francisque Vigouroux, Mayor of Igny, President of the Union of Mayors of Essonne and Vice-President of the Paris-Saclay intermunicipal authority; Metin Yavuz, Mayor of Valenton, Val-de-Marne departmental councillor and President of Valophis; Michaël Damati, Mayor of Crosne and Vice-President of the Val d’Yerres Val de Seine intermunicipal authority; and Bernard Ghanassia, municipal councillor with delegated responsibilities in Puteaux and the municipality’s representative on intermunicipal bodies.

The delegation also includes Yves Bovero, Director of SEMPRO, Le Plessis-Robinson’s mixed public-private development company; Frédéric Quevillon, architect and Vice-President of the Île-de-France Regional Council of the Order of Architects; Franck Droin, founder of KAISSA, a consultancy specialising in healthcare, territorial development and digital solutions; Franck Leducq, President of the Énergie France–Bulgarie Association; and Elena Valcheva, the association’s Secretary General.

Ivo Dimov, Vice-Chair of the NAMRB Management Board and Mayor of Dimitrovgrad, welcomed the French delegation on behalf of NAMRB’s leadership and Bulgarian mayors. He emphasised that meetings between local elected representatives provide an opportunity for open professional discussions about their responsibility for municipal development and residents’ quality of life. Drawing on his experience as a mayor serving his fourth term, Dimov noted that every completed project requires substantial effort that often goes unnoticed by the public.

Despite differences in institutional and administrative arrangements, expectations of local authorities are similar: accessible, high-quality services, good infrastructure and tangible results, he said. Dimov also highlighted the need for skilled administrative teams, which are becoming increasingly difficult to recruit in Bulgaria. He expressed Bulgarian mayors’ willingness to share their experience and discuss the challenges and solutions of their French counterparts, and thanked them for their hospitality during the NAMRB delegation’s visit to Paris.

NAMRB Executive Director Silvia Georgieva thanked the Énergie France–Bulgarie Association for helping to develop contacts between local authorities in the two countries. She welcomed the fact that the meetings held during the Bulgarian delegation’s visit to France last year were developing into cooperation and creating opportunities for exchanges on common municipal challenges.

In her presentation, Georgieva outlined the main features of Bulgarian local self-government, emphasising that municipalities are the country’s only tier of local self-government. She explained the powers of directly elected mayors and municipal councils and the broad scope of municipal responsibilities, ranging from public works, educational infrastructure and waste management to social services, culture and disaster protection. She paid particular attention to the role of NAMRB, which brings together all 265 municipalities and is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. Georgieva also presented the association’s involvement in drafting legislation and negotiating municipal budgets with the central government.

Franck Leducq, President of the Énergie France–Bulgarie Association, described cooperation between municipalities and direct relationships between mayors as an expression of the strength and vitality of French-Bulgarian friendship. He thanked NAMRB for its welcome and assistance in organising the visit and meetings in Bulgaria. He said the visit offered the French representatives an opportunity to gain first-hand insight into the organisation and work of Bulgarian local authorities.

The financing model of Bulgarian municipalities, particularly the substantial share of central government transfers in their budgets, attracted considerable interest among the French mayors. They asked about the balance between own-source revenue and central government funding, and local authorities’ ability to finance their policies independently. They also expressed interest in access to European funding for municipalities of different sizes, NAMRB’s capacity to implement European projects, and the participation of village mayors in municipal council proceedings. Comparison with the French model highlighted a shared challenge: the transfer of new responsibilities to local authorities without corresponding funding.

Spatial and urban planning was another major focus of the discussion. Participants considered the development of residential neighbourhoods, the provision of essential public infrastructure and the regeneration of existing urban areas. The French representatives shared their experience of transforming neighbourhoods and creating town centres inspired by traditional architecture. They also presented examples of combining private and social housing, and using proceeds from property transactions to finance social housing construction.

Through the declaration, the three organisations commit to promoting exchanges between Bulgarian and French local authorities through visits, expert meetings, conferences and joint initiatives. Cooperation will encompass the sharing of experience and good practices in local self-government, sustainable development, the energy transition, environmental protection, public services, cultural heritage and digital innovation.

The French delegation’s visit continues with a meeting with Vasil Terziev, Mayor of Sofia, at Sofia Municipality, and a meeting with Desislava Georgieva, Deputy Minister of Regional Development and Public Works.