site.btaGovernment Adopts Action Plan to Save Funds under Regions in Growth Operational Programme

The Council of Ministers has decided to adopt an action plan to save funding under the 2021-2027 Regions in Growth Operational Programme, Deputy Prime Minister Atanas Pekanov said at a briefing following a Cabinet meeting here on Wednesday.

Pekanov noted that the funding involved amounts to more than EUR 3 billion, but little progress has been made in recent years. “We are facing the risk that these funds could be irretrievably lost due to a lack of vision and action by previous governments,” Pekanov said.

“Key to today’s decision were the steps we took together with Minister Ivan Shishkov to terminate a flawed procedure aimed at supporting small and medium-sized enterprises in Stara Zagora,” Pekanov said. He explained that there were clear indications that the procedure had been rigged and that the assessments and criteria used to evaluate projects during the Zhelyazkov Cabinet had been manipulated. According to him, the European Commission (EC) informed the new Cabinet about the issue in May. He added that the procedure involved EUR 127 million. Pekanov thanked the business community for the constructive dialogue on the matter. A new procedure based on proper and objective criteria will be launched, he said.

“I urge MPs, such as former [regional development and public works] minister Nikolay Nankov, not to send me letters appealing to us and telling us that there was no subjectivity, because we can see where this has led them politically,” the Deputy Prime Minister said.

Five years have passed, yet only around 50% of the programme's funding has been contracted, while just 10% has been paid out, Pekanov further explained. He added that by the end of this year, Bulgaria must declare to the EC that it has completed expenditures amounting to EUR 800 million. “If we had not adopted this plan today, we would have lost these EUR 800 million,” the Deputy Prime Minister said.

Atanas Pekanov also explained that some of the measures are related to municipalities, including securing funding for the children's hospital in Burgas. Funding is also planned for urban mobility in Sofia. The money will be used to purchase new trolleybuses, buses, and trams for the capital.

The Council of Ministers' decision also includes funding for coal regions.

In response to a question, Atanas Pekanov said that the battle to secure funding under the Recovery and Resilience Plan for medical helicopters had been won, “despite the delays and the fact that the hangars have not been built.” The helicopters have been funded, while the hangars will be built with money from the state budget, he explained.