site.btaUPDATED Caretaker Cabinet Submits Fourth Payment Request under Recovery and Resilience Plan Worth EUR 900 Mln

The caretaker government has submitted to the European Commission the fourth payment request under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), amounting to EUR 900 million, caretaker Deputy Prime Minister for European Funding Maria Nedina told a briefing here on Friday. The funds will support thousands of Bulgarian companies, hundreds of municipalities, and households, and will contribute to a more stable economy and a better standard of living, she noted.

The Recovery and Resilience Facility operates on a money-for-reforms principle, and the fourth payment request includes over 2,500 investments in key economic sectors such as healthcare, social services, education, and energy, Nedina specified. Among the planned investments are the modernization of over 50 hospitals, the construction of 100 outpatient clinics in remote areas, measures to support people with disabilities, and the construction of new homes for the elderly, Nedina explained. She also highlighted the project for emergency medical helicopters, noting that the caretaker government has encountered difficulties with the design and construction of hangars for them.

Other investments include the creation of a STEM environment in over 2,000 schools, the renovation of schools and kindergartens, as well as the renovation and modernization of public buildings, the Deputy Prime Minister added. 

The payment request reflects the completion of 27 phases. Of these, 16 have already been submitted to the European Commission. Final negotiations are underway for another seven. "Within the next month, we expect to submit the remaining stages of the fourth payment request under the NRRP to the European Commission," Nedina stated.

She noted that two of the planned measures will not be able to be implemented. These are the Water Supply and Sewerage Act, on which no consensus has been reached in the National Assembly, as well as an interim stage of the reform of the Bulgarian Energy Holding. According to her, Bulgaria could lose up to EUR 437 million due to the Water Supply and Sewerage Act. 

Nedina noted that the reform of the Bulgarian Energy Holding is part of the fifth payment, but the fourth one includes an interim step that requires a decision by the Council of Ministers to begin work on restructuring the Holding. “On the last day of the National Assembly, it decided that this reform would not be implemented, so it will not be submitted in its current form,” she explained.

Despite the expected withholding of part of the funds, the caretaker government expects the majority of the amount to be transferred to the state budget by the end of June, so that the investments can be carried out on time, the Deputy Prime Minister clarified. 

Nedina also drew attention to the delayed reforms related to the second and third payments under the NRRP - regarding the Anti-Corruption Commission and the Prosecutor General. She noted that May 4 marks the deadline by which the National Assembly must adopt the reform regarding the Anti-Corruption Commission. “After this deadline, these funds will not only be withheld but will be lost irrevocably,” Nedina stated.

According to her, this involves EUR 214 million from the second payment, which have already been withheld, and after May 4, the total amount of potentially lost funds could reach EUR 357 million. She warned that under certain circumstances, Bulgaria may be forced to return funds already spent from previous payments.

Nedina emphasized that future EU funding mechanisms will also be tied to the implementation of reforms, not merely to the provision of grants. She explained that the deadline for adopting the reform regarding the Prosecutor General expires on June 22. According to her, the two draft laws have already been published for public consultation and are similar to previous texts considered by the National Assembly.