Bulgaria's Caretaker Govt to Allocate BGN 750 M to Projects Affected by EU Funds Freeze

Bulgaria's Council of Ministers building, photo by Sofia Photo Agency

Bulgaria's caretaker government is to decide Wednesday on allocating state funding of up to BGN 750 M for projects affected by an EU funds freeze under operational programs Environment and Regional Development.

The decision is to help cope with the crisis caused by the blocked EU funding.

The money will be recovered after the European Commission restores payments under the two operational programs, according to a media statement of the caretaker government, as cited by econ.bg.

The lack of payments under a number of projects means that they may not be completed within the frames of programming period 2007-2013, thereby requiring the allocation of extra state funding to finish the ongoing projects and to pay late payment penalties to the contractors.

The caretaker government is to approve the project of the new operational program under the Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived (FEAD).

The program aims to prevent social exclusion of the most deprived persons.

The funding will go to the provision of individual packages of food products for the most deprived persons for a period of seven years and to support for soup kitchens so as to guarantee that they function round the year.

The agenda of Wednesday's sitting of the caretaker government also includes decisions on allocating funding for the construction of the Belokopitovo-Kaspichan section of the Hemus motorway and a 9-km section of the right lane of the Maritsa motorway, for repair works at schools, and for the judiciary.

The caretaker government is also to review a proposal of the caretaker Culture Minister for declaring the Rila Monastery a site of national significance.

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