Brussels, 9 October 2023
Bulgaria’s second payment request for €724 million in grants relates to 61 milestones and 5 targets.
They cover investments in areas such as science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) centres and innovation in education, research and innovation, smart industry, renovation of buildings, digitalisation of the electricity transmission grid, energy-efficient street lighting, renewable sources, and electricity storage, as well as digitalisation of railway transport.
The payment request also includes a series of reforms aiming to enhance preschool, school, and higher education as well as lifelong learning, promote e-health, support the decarbonisation of the energy sector by boosting the uptake of renewable energy and energy efficiency improvements, and support sustainable urban transport. Further reforms relate to ensuring an accessible, effective, and predictable justice system and fighting corruption. Other reforms cover areas such as judicial mediation, insolvency procedures, eGovernment, governance of state-owned enterprises, anti-money laundering, and public procurement. Reforms to improve the social and healthcare sectors are also covered.
Bulgaria’s recovery and resilience plan is financed by €5.69 billion in grants. As with all Member States, payments under the RRF are performance-based and contingent on Bulgaria implementing the investments and reforms outlined in its recovery and resilience plan.
The Commission will now assess the request and will then send its preliminary assessment to the Council’s Economic and Financial Committee. More information on the assessment of Member States’ payment requests under the RRF is available in this Q&A.
More information on the Bulgarian recovery and resilience plan is available here.
Source – EU Commission