Spatial Planning Instruments in Bulgaria: Toward the Europeanization of the Spatial Model Velislava Simeonova Simeonova Aquesta tesi doctoral està subjecta a la llicència Reconeixement- NoComercial – SenseObraDerivada 3.0. Espanya de Creative Commons. Esta tesis doctoral está sujeta a la licencia Reconocimiento - NoComercial – SinObraDerivada 3.0. España de Creative Commons. This doctoral thesis is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial- NoDerivs 3.0. Spain License. UNIVERSITY OF BARCELONA Faculty of Geography and History PhD program in Geography, Spatial Planning and Environmental Management SPATIAL PLANNING INSTRUMENTS IN BULGARIA: TOWARD THE EUROPEANIZATION OF THE SPATIAL MODEL VELISLAVA SIMEONOVA SIMEONOVA BARCELONA, MARCH 2017 UNIVERSITY OF BARCELONA Faculty of Geography and History Department of Geography PhD program in Geography, Spatial Planning and Environmental Management PhD Project SPATIAL PLANNING INSTRUMENTS IN BULGARIA: TOWARD THE EUROPEANIZATION OF THE SPATIAL MODEL by Velislava Simeonova Simeonova Scientific Supervision by Dr Dolores Sánchez Aguilera BARCELONA, MARCH 2017 GENERAL THESIS INFORMATION Title: “Spatial planning instruments in Bulgaria: Toward the Europeanization of the spatial model” Main research line: 100663 Spatial Planning and Management Thesis Supervisor: Dr Dolores Sánchez Aguilera To Dr Hristo Ganev † ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This research is the final product of studying within the PhD program “Geography, Spatial Planning and Environmental Management” at the University of Barcelona between 2011 and 2017. With the following, I would like to give my boundless thanks to all those professionals, friends, colleagues and institutions, whose patience, provided opportunities, support and unconditional faith in me, made this research a reality. First of all, I would like to express my gratitude to my supervisor Dr Dolores Sánchez Aguilera for her support, reflections and constructive criticism during my course of study. At the institutional level, I would like to thank to the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports of Spain, which funded the realization of this doctoral thesis during the 2013- 2017 period through the FPU ( Formación de Profesorado Universitario ) program, whose aim is to support future university professors. I give my special thanks to the ANTERRIT research team, which I am associated to, and its members, for the opportunity to participate in scientific projects, to learn more about various spatial contexts, to share experience and knowledge. I also give my special thanks to the members of the research team Dr Francisco López Palomeque, Dr Jaume Font Garolera and Dr Berezi Elorrieta Sanz, with whom I had the opportunity to work on various disciplines as a university professor in the Bachelor’s and Master’s course. I would like to thank the Leibniz Institute for Regional Geography (Leibniz-Institut für Länderkunde) in Leipzig (Germany), its Director – Dr Sebastian Lentz and Dr Thilo Lang, who made my three-month stay possible in the period April-July 2015. I thank to all the team of researchers and colleagues at that Institute for their support, provided opportunities for participation in courses, colloquiums and meetings, which all contributed to my professional qualification and future research lines. I appreciate their patience, persistence, friendship and support. I also give my thanks to the colleagues and professors at Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski” in Bulgaria and to colleagues and friends at the University of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Geodesy, who kindly assisted me in the organizing of interviews, and for the prolonged conversations and debates on the problems of spatial planning in Bulgaria. I thank to Dr Boris Kazakov at the National Institute of Geophysics, Geodesy and Geography (BAS) for his kind assistance in the preparation of the English version of this doctoral thesis. I would also like to give my special thanks to all those wonderful people, friends and colleagues from Catalonia, Bulgaria, Spain, Germany, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Peru, Mexico, El Salvador, who stood next to me in all hard, lonely, sad and tense moments, and who had unconditional faith in me, helped me and supported me. Last but not least, I express gratitude to my family, thanks to whom I consistently and obstinately follow my dreams. Velislava Simeonova, Barcelona, March 2017 ii ABSTRACT This study aims to advance the knowledge of the system of spatial planning instruments and of the Europeanization process, having as an object of study a country from Eastern Europe: Bulgaria. The actuality of the topic is justified by the fact that Bulgaria is one of the new EU member states and also by the need to understand how the national system of spatial planning is transformed and Europeanized as a result of this membership. Understanding and interpreting the changes in the planning system after the fall of the communist regime in 1989 and the country's preparation for EU- membership, followed by an analysis of the system of spatial planning instruments and its implementation in the process of Europeanization, shape out the two main successive lines of research, which define the main objectives of the study. The time scope of the study covers the period between 1989 and 2013, thus coinciding with the end of the first programming period for Bulgaria as an official member of the Union. The study follows the dynamics of the various dimensions of the system of spatial planning, with special focus on those periods when the Europeanization process has had the greatest impact in the transformation of the system of planning instruments, respectively – the strongest impact on the spatial instruments - and its implementation through new ones, in the context of the European spatial discourse or model. The analysis of the studied literature and documents, as well as the conducted interviews, show and argue that Bulgaria has made significant efforts in introducing new planning instruments, mostly related to regional development planning, but without any reformation and integration of the system of spatial planning. The implementation of the Integrated Plans at the local level and the National Spatial Development Concept as new spatial instruments - an expression of the coordination of the physical planning and the development of the territory, although within the legal framework of regional development - display the first attempts for integration of the planning system, discursive integration and transfer of the ideas of the European spatial model. iii RESUMEN Este estudio pretende contribuir al conocimiento del sistema de instrumentos de ordenación del territorio (spatial planning) y del proceso de europeización, teniendo como objeto de estudio a un país de Europa del Este: Bulgaria. La actualidad del tema se justifica por el hecho de que Bulgaria es uno de los nuevos Estados Miembros de la UE, y también por la necesidad de comprender cómo se transforma y europeiza el sistema nacional de ordenación del territorio como resultado de esta adhesión. Las dos principales líneas que definen los objetivos del estudio son, en primer lugar, comprender e interpretar los cambios en el sistema de ordenación del territorio tras la caída del régimen comunista en 1989 y la preparación del país para la adhesión a la UE. Y en segundo lugar, realizar un análisis del sistema de los instrumentos de ordenación y su aplicación en el proceso de europeización. El ámbito temporal del estudio abarca el período comprendido entre 1989 y 2013, coincidiendo así con el final del primer período de programación para Bulgaria como miembro oficial de la UE. La investigación sigue la dinámica de las diversas dimensiones del sistema de ordenación del territorio, con especial atención en aquellos períodos en los que el proceso de europeización ha tenido mayor impacto en la transformación del sistema de instrumentos de planificación y, posteriormente, su implementación en el contexto del discurso espacial europeo o modelo de ordenación de territorio. El análisis de la literatura y los documentos estudiados, así como las entrevistas realizadas evidencian que Bulgaria ha realizado esfuerzos significativos en la introducción de nuevos instrumentos de planificación, en su mayoría relacionados con la planificación del desarrollo regional, sin reforma e integración del sistema de ordenación del territorio. La implementación de los Planes Integrados a nivel local y del Concepto Nacional de Desarrollo Espacial constituye nuevas herramientas en el sistema de instrumentos de ordenación y son una expresión de la voluntad de coordinación de la planificación física y del desarrollo del territorio, dentro del marco jurídico del desarrollo regional. La implementación de estos planes y la difusión del Concepto Nacional de Desarrollo Espacial representan los primeros intentos de integración del sistema de planificación, de integración discursiva y transferencia de las ideas del Modelo Europeo de Ordenación territorial (European Spatial Model ). iv RESUM Aquest estudi pretén d’ampliar el coneixement del sistema d’instruments d’ordenació del territori ( spatial planning ) i del procés d’europeïtzació, tenint com a objecte d’estudi un país d’Europa de l’Est: Bulgària. L’actualitat del tema es justifica pel fet que Bulgària és un dels nous Estats Membres de la UE, i també per la necessitat de comprendre con es transforma i europeïtza el sistema nacional d’ordenació del territori com a resultat d’aquesta adhesió. Comprendre i interpretar