site.btaDeputy PM Donchev: Bulgaria Could Still Salvage Second Payment under Recovery Plan

There are all the prerequisites for Bulgaria to resubmit a request for a second payment under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan and to receive the funds, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Innovation and Growth Tomislav Donchev said at a briefing at the Council of Ministers on Thursday.

"Two months ago I was rather pessimistic if we could receive the funds in the second payment, but after three months of efforts and two months of negotiations with the Commission, Bulgaria has all the prerequisites to submit a request for a second payment and receive the funds by the end of this year," he said.

The government approved and sent to the European Commission on Wednesday the request for amendment of the Recovery Plan and the draft content of the REPowerEU chapter in it. The amendment is on the basis of Article 21(1) of the Recovery and Resilience Facility Regulation, which allows for changes due to objective circumstances.