ASSESSMENT AND ANALYSIS OF MEDIUM-SIZED CITIES AND MUNICIPALITIES IN NORTHEASTERN BULGARIA IN THE CONTEXT OF EUROPEAN INTEGRATION

The need for assessment and analysis of medium-sized cities and municipalities in Northeastern Bulgaria brings to the fore the state of the municipalities and the leading settlements in them. In the processes of integration of the country since 2007, processes and phenomena have been taking place that lead to a new state of the region. In the introductory part, an analysis is made of the regional and economic state of the municipalities up to 30 thousand people in Northeastern Bulgaria, which are the backbone of the economy of the region, thus the demographic profile and the reasons for its state are derived. In the methodology, an analysis of the socio-economic state of the indicated municipal centers is carried out. Then the municipalities are grouped by size and analyzed in three subgroups. The purpose of the assessment and analysis is to allow the possibility of building the profile of these municipalities. This means to derive the need for measures and policies for regional development that would help the indicated cities and municipalities, which would improve the state of regional economic centers and their adjacent municipalities, with the aim of inclusive development of these regions in Bulgaria.