Bulgaria Seeks Amendments to Recovery and Resilience Plan, Adds REPowerEU Chapter

On April 16, Bulgaria formally requested the European Commission to modify its Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP) in line with Article 21 of the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism (RRM) Regulation. This request includes the addition of a new chapter focused on REPowerEU – a European initiative aimed at reducing dependence on Russian fossil fuels while accelerating the ecological transition. The proposed REPowerEU chapter introduces three new reforms and four investment projects.

The proposed reforms are designed to enhance the management of energy poverty and prepare for the liberalisation of the retail energy market. They also aim to increase transparency in the connection process for new renewable energy and storage capacities, improve the functioning of the balancing energy market, and support the implementation of demand response measures. The proposed investments cover areas such as developing an information system to identify energy-poor and vulnerable households, promoting renewable energy and electric vehicles in social services, and expanding electricity storage through the scaling up of existing investments (RESTORE).

In addition to these new measures, Bulgaria also seeks to remove or adjust several existing actions in its plan. This adjustment is driven by new circumstances that impact the original feasibility of some measures. Despite these changes, Bulgaria remains committed to utilizing the funds allocated under the Recovery and Resilience Facility. Notably, some of the proposed modifications pertain to unresolved issues related to Bulgaria's second payment request. Consequently, Bulgaria requested the withdrawal of this payment request on April 17, with the Commission's agreement, intending to resubmit it once the amended plan is approved.

Next steps involve the European Commission continuing to collaborate with Bulgarian authorities to review the revised plan. The Commission will assess whether the modified plan still aligns with the criteria outlined in the IBA Regulation. If the assessment is positive, the Commission will propose an amended Council Implementing Decision to reflect the changes. Member States will then have up to four weeks to approve the Commission's assessment.