The European Commission has approved Bulgaria's Operational Programme Good Governance (OPGG) and Operational Programme Science and Education for Smart Growth (OPSESG), which will be financed by EU resources in the 2014-2020 programming period.
Operational Programme Good Governance outlines the priorities and objectives to invest nearly EUR 336 million (of which EUR 286 million from the EU budget) to help modernize the public administration and improve transparency in the judiciary.
Around EUR 118 million will be spent to reduce administrative and regulatory burden on citizens and business. This programme is the key funding instrument to support the improvement of the overall transparency and accountability of civil service and the functioning of public procurement systems.
Another EUR 30 million will fund measures to increase transparency and accelerate judicial proceedings through structural, procedural and organisational reforms in the judiciary; to improve the accessibility and the accountability of the judiciary through the introduction of e-justice, and to extend the scope and improve the quality of training in the judicial system.
A dedicated funding of EUR 62 million will finance the horizontal structures responsible for the management and implementation of the European Structural and Investment Funds and the improvement of beneficiaries' capacity, as well as the effective functioning of Unified Management Information System.
Operational Programme Science and Education for Smart Growth will be the first of its kind in Bulgaria. It will channel over EUR 701 million in addressing the most serious problems of Bulgarian education. Investments under this programme will focus on an improvement of the quality of Bulgarian education so as to meet the business community's demand for skilled personnel. The programme prioritizes a modernization and improvement of conditions at educational establishments and research institutes, and building capacity for scientific research and development and innovations under the Innovation Strategy for Smart Specialization.
The completion of negotiations on the two new programmes is yet another step towards a final approval of the full package of EU financing instruments that will operate in Bulgaria until 2020. At the end of last year, the European Commission approved two operational programmes for the new programming period: Human Resources Development, with a budget exceeding EUR 1,000 million, and Transport and Transport Infrastructure, with a budget of approximately EUR 2,000 million.
A fifth operational programme, Innovations and Competitiveness, is expected to be approved in the coming weeks.