site.btaParliament to Debate Ratification of Contribution Agreement between Bulgaria, European Investment Bank to EU for Ukraine Fund

Parliament is scheduled to debate a bill to ratify the Contribution Agreement between the Republic of Bulgaria and the European Investment Bank (EIB) concerning the EU for Ukraine Fund, according to the legislature’s agenda for Friday, adopted by MPs.

Bulgaria’s participation in the EU for Ukraine Fund with a contribution in the form of a guarantee amounting to EUR 10 million was approved by the Council of Ministers on October 11, 2023, the report of the Parliamentary Budget and Finance Committee says. The issuance of the state guarantee in connection with Bulgaria’s participation in the Fund through the conclusion of the two agreements with the EIB is provided for the State Budget Act of the Republic of Bulgaria for 2025.

The Fund is part of the EIB’s EU for Ukraine initiative and aims to enable European Union Member States, the European Commission, as well as other countries and donors, to support Ukraine’s recovery through their contributions.

The contribution is voluntary and may take the form of a cash contribution, a guarantee, or a combination of the two.

To date, contribution agreements have been signed by 16 EU Member States: Belgium, Italy, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, France, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Finland, Croatia, Spain, Poland, Slovakia and Ireland, with four of them also having signed Guarantee Agreements. The total amount of participation by all contributors stands at EUR 410.3 million.

Ratification of the Contribution Agreement and the Notice of Accession to the Guarantee Agreement will secure Bulgaria’s participation in the EU for Ukraine Fund. This will allow the country, through joint and several guarantees together with the other EU Member States, to indirectly support Ukraine’s recovery and contribute to the rollout of public- and private-sector projects for the reconstruction of critical municipal infrastructure and to improving access to finance for entrepreneurs, the budget committee report also notes.

Parliament's agenda also includes question time for outgoing Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport Grozdan Karadjov, outgoing ministers Atanas Zapryanov, Zhecho Stankov, Georg Georgiev, Ivan Ivanov and Georgi Georgiev.