site.btaBulgaria Resubmits Second Payment Request under Recovery and Resilience Plan

On July 23, Bulgaria resubmitted to the European Commission its second payment request under the national Recovery and Resilience Plan, amounting to EUR 653 million, the Finance Ministry said in a press release on Thursday. The request covers the completion of 59 milestones and targets, 20 of which were tied to legislative reforms. To meet these, amendments were made to 15 existing laws and three new laws were adopted, the press release said.

This is the payment request with the highest number of legislative measures to date. Key reforms implemented through it include the liberalization of the electricity market, promotion of renewable energy generation, a legal framework for whistleblower protection, the establishment of a Counter-Corruption Commission, improvements in insolvency procedures including the introduction of personal bankruptcy, and restrictions on no-bid and single-offer public procurement procedures, the Finance Ministry said.

In terms of investments, the request includes support for small and medium-sized enterprises for technological modernization, digitalization, and cybersecurity; a national scheme for energy-efficient renovation of residential and non-residential buildings; initiatives for modern street lighting; and household renewable energy projects.

This second request was resubmitted after being withdrawn on April 17, 2025, due to unfulfilled measures and the risk of losing EU funds. Following this, the Bulgarian government took action to implement the outstanding measures and optimize their execution to ensure compliance, the Finance Ministry also said.

The European Commission will assess the request within the next two months.