Bulgaria to Receive Nearly Eur 29 Bln from Next EU Budget, Says Prime Minister Borissov

EU Council meeting in Brussels since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic agreed on a Covid recovery package and the EU budget for the next seven years, Prime Minister Boyko Borissov said that Bulgaria can expect from those about 29 billion euro. He was speaking in a video posted on his Facebook page after the five-day European Council.

Borissov said that Bulgaria is one of only few countries that will receive nearly 1 billion euro more than the current European budget even though the new budget is 62 billion euro
smaller than the current one.

''That is why I deserve to hear people demanding my resignation'', he commented sarcastically, referring to the ongoing protests calling for the resignation of his government.

He said that the funds available for agricultural and cohesion policy were not cut back, adding that it was Bulgaria's "red line". 9 billion euro are set aside for cohesion policy which is 800 million euro more than the current budget. "This is important for achieving our main goals: competitiveness, economic growth, employment,'' said the Prime Minister.

He noted that Bulgaria won a hard fought battle as for the first time additional target funds, in the amount of 200 million euro, are provided for underdeveloped regions like Bulgaria's North and Northwest. He also said that 500 million euro will be available for Bulgaria's environmental protection and clean economy, and 200 million euro are intended for migration and security.

Bulgaria will have access to 7.7 billion euro in economic recovery grants.

''As for the people who want my resignation, I leave for them 29 billion euro for the coming years. This is nearly 60 billion leva, as much as the current decline in the GDP and more than everything Bulgaria earned under socialist governments,'' said Borissov. ''

He also said that during the EU Council everyone thanked him for his help and that European Council President Charles Michel called him to express gratitude for his support in the negotiations.

The Prime Minister stressed that Charles Michel has proven to be an exceptional friend to Bulgaria. He also noted Chancellor Angela Merkel support with providing an additional 200 million euro, as well as the support from the Chancellor of Austria, Sebastian Kurz, ''who addressed the European Council, as if he were the Prime Minister of Bulgaria''. Borissov also expressed gratitude to the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Mark Rutte, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and French President Emmanuel Macron.

Borissov explained that the tying of EU funding with the rule of law is envisaged to be a transparent process, respecting the principles of objectivity, non-discrimination and equal treatment of all parties through an evidence-based approach.

Details about the distribution of funding that will be available to Bulgaria, were made public at a news briefing later on Tuesday by Deputy Prime Minister Tomislav Donchev.

Following is the breakdown he provided:

28.934 billion euro - total financing;
9 billion euro - Cohesion Policy;
5 billion euro - direct payments to farmers;
1.178 billion euro - Just Transition Fund (aimed to help regions
 transition to a low-carbon economy);
658 million euro - React-EU (the Covid response facility, to be
accessible this year);
just over 2 billion euro - Rural Development Programme;
239 million euro - migration and security;
56 million euro - operations and projects related to the
decommissioning of Kozloduy N-plant units;
200 million euro - additional package for underdeveloped
regions.

Of the available funding, 24,385 million euro will be grants and 4,549 million euro loans, said Donchev.

He said that Bulgaria should not allow the funding under the new instrument Next Generation EU "to vanish like water in the sand and the money should go where they will produce the biggest gains". He believes that this money should be used to strengthen the health system and the social care system, and support businesses through schemes accessible for the vast majority of them or "practically all that qualify".

Donchev also said that energy efficiency is "inevitably in the focus" of the EU policy. He believes that in the coming years Bulgaria should retrofit all public buildings and reopen the programme for energy efficiency of condominiums without asking owners to pay out of their pockets.

Source: BTA