site.btaEIB Group Reports 72% Increase in Financing for Bulgaria in 2025 to EUR 646 Mln

The European Investment Bank (EIB) Group reported a 72% increase in financing for Bulgaria in 2025, reaching EUR 646 million. The rise from EUR 375 million in 2024 is accelerating Bulgaria’s economic, environmental and social convergence with the rest of the EU, the EIB Group’s Sofia office said on Thursday. The Group also includes the European Investment Fund (EIF), which focuses on financing small and medium-sized enterprises.

Support provided in 2025 is expected to mobilize investments of around EUR 2.2 billion, equivalent to 1.9% of Bulgaria’s gross domestic product (GDP).

Most of the financing in Bulgaria in 2025 was directed to projects promoting economic and social cohesion, with around one third allocated to climate action and environmental sustainability.

According to the report, the EIB Group also provided EUR 30 million last year for projects under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan.

New liquidity unlocked by the Group in 2025 reached 4,700 small and medium-sized enterprises and mid-cap companies, supporting nearly 118,400 jobs in the country.

At the end of 2025, the Bulgarian government and representatives of the EIF agreed to extend the EU’s JEREMIE initiative (Joint European Resources for Micro to Medium Enterprises), valued at EUR 350 million, until 2035. Under the agreement, EUR 160 million will be available to the Bulgarian economy from 2026 to promote deep tech, technology transfer and artificial intelligence (AI) projects. This capital is expected to help innovative Bulgarian companies scale across the region and the EU. The EIB Group recalled that JEREMIE positioned Bulgaria as a pioneer in the professional, market-oriented use of EU funding and enabled the emergence of a vibrant equity and venture capital ecosystem. Over 15 years, more than 10,000 SMEs have been supported under the initiative with over EUR 1.6 billion in loans and equity investments, five times the initial public resource. 

The report also provides details on projects supported in 2025, highlighting a EUR 200 million loan to German group Aurubis, to be invested in two strategic projects, including one to expand copper refining capacity at the Aurubis plant in Pirdop.

Another focus of the EIB Group’s operations in Bulgaria in 2025 was joint work between the organization’s advisers and the Ministry of Energy on decarbonizing the Maritsa East energy complex, home to Europe’s largest open-cast lignite mine and several coal-fired power plants. The EIB’s advisory arm is supporting the development of priority projects, strengthening the ministry’s capacity to manage complex initiatives and securing additional EU funding.

The report also mentions cooperation with the Ministry of Energy on advisory work related to the creation of municipality-led energy communities in Bulgaria.

Another project explicitly highlighted is advisory support to Burgas Municipality for the development of a modern research campus aimed at attracting Bulgarian and international researchers and students. The campus is scheduled to open in 2027.