site.btaUPDATED Caretaker Government Secures EUR 400 Mln under Recovery Plan after EC Deadline Extension, Says Caretaker PM Gurov

The caretaker government has secured EUR 400 million under the second and third payments of Bulgaria's Recovery and Resilience Plan after the deadline for meeting key conditions was extended following negotiations with the European Commission, caretaker Prime Minister Andrey Gurov said on Monday.

Speaking at a joint briefing with Deputy Prime Minister for EU funds Maria Nedina, Gurov said the extension concerns requirements related to anti-corruption legislation and mechanisms for investigating the Prosecutor General.

He noted that when the caretaker cabinet took office in late February, it faced two main tasks: submitting a request for the fourth payment under the Recovery and Resilience Plan and securing nearly half a billion euros under the second and third tranches. According to Gurov, the funds had been blocked due to a lack of progress on anti-corruption reforms and the establishment of an independent mechanism to investigate the prosecutor general.

"In early April, we requested EUR 900 million under the fourth payment. More importantly, we did not write off the EUR 400 million that had been abandoned by the previous government," Gurov said.

He added that Bulgaria had faced the prospect of a final refusal from the European Commission on May 4, but following intensive negotiations led by Nedina and her team, the deadline for meeting the conditions was extended.

Gurov stressed that the extension comes with a clear task for the incoming government and parliamentary majority: to establish a new anti-corruption commission and ensure an independent mechanism for investigating the Prosecutor General. "Not a new sign on a new building, but a truly independent and much-needed fight against corruption in Bulgaria. And an independent investigation of the Prosecutor General. Not reshuffling, not old dwarfs in new restaurants, but justice," he said.

He added that the necessary legislative texts have already been prepared by the deputy prime minister's team, approved by the caretaker Government and submitted to Parliament. "They are now where good intentions often end up – in Parliament's registry," Gurov said.

The caretaker Prime Minister expressed hope that the new majority would use the time gained and avoid further delays. "We now have a new majority and we hope that, with the time we have secured, we will not hear the same old excuses," he said.

Gurov thanked Nedina, her team and the ministers for their work on the fourth payment, the secured funds under the second and third tranches, and additional investment programmes under the plan. "We are leaving around EUR 2 billion more in the budget for the next regular government," he added.