In brief
Commissioner Piotr Serafin’s visit to Bulgaria – scheduled for October 29–30 – concentrates on the next EU budget and highlights meetings with the prime minister, finance minister, and local stakeholders. The trip also showcases EU‑funded research facilities and underscores broader efforts to streamline funding procedures.
European Commissioner for Budget, Anti‑Fraud and Public Administration Piotr Serafin will spend Thursday and Friday in Sofia to consult with Bulgarian officials on the EU’s next multi‑annual financial framework, according to the European Commission Representation in Bulgaria.
On Thursday, Serafin will confer with Prime Minister Rumen Radev, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Galab Donev, and Deputy Prime Minister Atanas Pekanov, who oversees EU fund management. The visit is part of his broader tour across Europe to gather inputs for the bloc’s 2028–2034 MFF proposal.
Serafin will open a conference titled "The Next Multiannual Financial Framework: Priorities and Principles" in Sofia. The event is jointly organized by the European Commission Representation in Bulgaria, the Embassy of Poland in Bulgaria, and the Sofia office of the European Council on Foreign Relations.
Friday’s agenda will feature a meeting with the National Association of the Municipalities, during which the Commissioner will exchange views on municipal roles in the upcoming MFF, followed by a visit to the National STEM Centre in Sofia Tech Park. The centre, co‑funded by the Ministry of Education and Science and the Recovery and Resilience Plan, is a hub for science, technology, engineering and mathematics research.
The trip will then take the Commissioner to the laboratory and mission control room of EnduroSat, a satellite manufacturer and space service provider that benefits from EU funding through the European Innovation Council. On both visits, Deputy Prime Minister Pekanov will accompany Serafin, per a press release from the European Commission.
During his tour, Serafin has held numerous meetings across EU Member States to discuss the next MFF. A central theme of these dialogues has been the need to simplify complex funding procedures, ease administrative burdens and improve transparency. Stakeholders have highlighted the importance of reducing overlapping regulations and improving legal consistency to make EU funding easier to navigate.
Scope of the Visit According to Bulgarian Media
Bulgaria’s online news portal Факти.БГ reported that Serafin would visit Bulgaria on October 29 and 30 for talks on the next EU budget and meetings with the government, municipalities, and technology sectors. The site emphasizes the trip’s focus on budgetary priorities and stakeholder engagement.
The Euronews article "A train wreck: Can Sánchez survive Spain's latest crisis?" briefly notes that Serafin met Bulgarian Finance Minister Donev in Sofia, underscoring the continued diplomatic and budgetary dialogue between the two countries.
Attempts to retrieve a dedicated page on the European Commission’s website for the visit resulted in a "Page not found" error. The Commission’s standard homepage remains available, but the specific details of the trip are currently inaccessible online.
The Bulgarian government's own communications echo the Commission’s stance, framing Serafin’s trip as a "key opportunity to discuss regional implementation of EU funds" and to align national priorities with the broader EU financial strategy.
Regional partners, including the National Association of the Municipalities, highlighted the relevance of the National and Regional Partnership plans within the next MFF, showing a strong emphasis on local development projects and EU funding mechanisms.
Both the official Commission narrative and the Bulgarian media stress the importance of transparency and ease of navigation for EU funding. While the Commission emphasizes procedural simplification, local stakeholders underscore the tangible impacts of projects such as the STEM centre and EnduroSat’s satellite operations.
As the EU aims to formalize the 2028–2034 MFF framework, Serafin’s engagement in Bulgaria reflects an ongoing strategy to reconcile national priorities with EU-level budgeting goals, demonstrating how Brussels‑based policy is being shaped through direct consultation and field visits.
