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Abstract

The paper presents the results of survey dedicated to the European funds and their role to the development of the local community in Bulgaria. The survey was conducted in the beginning of 2019 among representatives, from different hierarchical level, of the Bulgarian municipalities. The authors claim that for the small municipalities with limited financial budget and lack of well-developed local economy, which is not directly based on the specific location for tourist services or big private investment, the European funding is the major instrument for the realization of local public policy and regional development. The results of survey show the improvement of the positive attitude towards environment and institutional system of management EU funds in Bulgaria in comparison with the previous programming period.