The Council of the European Union welcomes assessment of Bulgaria’s recovery and resilience plan

Economy and finance ministers of the European Union on 3 May welcomed the assessment of national recovery and resilience plan for Bulgaria. The Council will adopt its implementing decisions on the approval of these plans by written procedure shortly after the informal ministers’ meeting.

Following the formal adoption of the decisions, Bulgaria will be able to use the facility’s funds to foster its economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Recovery and Resilience Facility is the EU’s programme of large-scale financial support in response to the challenges the pandemic has posed to the European economy. The facility’s EUR 672.5 billion will be used to support the reforms and investments outlined in the member states’ recovery and resilience plans.

Reforms and investments

The Council decisions are preceded by the Commission’s assessment of the national recovery and resilience plan. The plan has to comply with the 2019 and 2020 country-specific recommendations and reflect the EU’s general objective of creating a greener, more digital and more competitive economy.

Bulgaria’s recovery and resilience plan consists of EUR 6.3 billion in grants. Bulgaria intends to use 58.9% of the plan’s total allocation for its climate objectives, by accelerating the decarbonisation of its energy sector, improving the energy efficiency of private and public buildings, and supporting sustainable forms of transport. 25.8% of the plan’s total allocation will be dedicated to digital objectives such as enhancing digital skills and the digitalisation of public administration as well as supporting the development of very high capacity networks across the country.