The Standing Committee of the Berne Convention decided to close the file on the Kaliakra case related to the construction of wind farms in the region of Kaliakra and Balchik. This happened at a meeting of the Committee, which took place in the period November 28 - December 2, 2022 in Strasbourg. The file is from 2004, and in 2007 the Standing Committee of the Convention issued a recommendation to Bulgaria containing a number of requirements. The Committee considered the measures taken by the Ministry of Environment and Water and other relevant institutions, including the owners of wind farms in the area, and reached unanimous agreement that the file was no longer needed.

Another important decision by the Standing Committee is not to open a file on the case of the Struma highway route through the Kresna gorge. The issue remains as a “potential file”, as it has been for the past 7 years. At the meeting, the results from the efforts by the Bulgarian authorities to overcome the obstacles to the construction of the Struma highway in the region of the Kresna Gorge were presented, including the identification of specific and detailed conservation goals for the protected areas “Kresna” and “Kresna-Ilindenci”, which was done a little over a month ago.

Considering the communication difficulties between the Bulgarian authorities and the nongovernmental organizations, the Bureau of the Convention will consider at its next meeting whether a mediation procedure can be implemented as a tool to improve cooperation.

The Ministry of Environment and Water welcomes the decisions and invites the nongovernmental organizations from the “Save Kresna” Coalition for open dialogue and constructive cooperation.