Minister Zhivkov: We quickly changed the Recovery Plan to provide a perspective for the coal regions

The caretaker government has rapidly developed changes to the Recovery and Sustainability Plan to provide a long-term perspective for the development of the coal regions that will be most affected by the economic transformation resulting from the Green Deal. This was announced by the Minister of Energy Andrey Zhivkov at the opening of the conference "EU Green Deal: Opportunities and Risks", organized by the American Chamber of Commerce in Bulgaria.

He explained to the participants in the forum the vision of the government for inclusion in the plan of projects for smooth gas passage of the facilities from the region of the Maritza East complex, the Ministry of Economy reminds.

Up to 1.5 gigawatts of capacity can benefit from this perspective, accompanied by the introduction of green energy capacity, said Minister Zhivkov. According to him, the financial resources from various sources for the implementation of projects for transformation to gas-based capacities can reach a total amount of 700 million euros under various European mechanisms.

All this will ensure an effective transition, meeting the challenges of the European Green Deal and a long-term sustainable perspective for the development of the regions, stressed Minister Zhivkov. He reminded that under the Fair Transition Fund Bulgaria can count on 1.178 billion euros, of which 505 million euros - under the multiannual financial framework 2021 - 2027 and 673 million euros from the instrument "Next Generation EU".

The currently developed plans for a fair transition will provide an opportunity for our country to take full advantage of the EU financial instruments in favor of energy transformation, said Minister Zhivkov to the participants in the forum.

He added that achieving the goals of the Green Deal will require significant public and private investment with the active contribution of all sectors of economic life.