site.btaFinance Minister Beltchev Meets with DG REFORM Director-General Nava

October 21 (BTA) - Caretaker Finance Minister Valery
Beltchev and his deputy Monika Dimitrova-Beecher met with the
Director-General of the European Commission's
Directorate-General for Structural Reform Support (DG REFORM),
Mario Nava, here on Thursday, the Finance Ministry reported.
They discussed, among other topics, the efforts and measures to
overcome the negative consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and
to recover, the current economic situation, the transition to a
carbon-neutral economy and energy efficiency.

Beltchev presented the progress made in the elaboration of the
draft state budget for 2022. He and Nava also discussed the
progress in the implementation of the measures and requirements
set in the National Plan for the Introduction of the Euro in
Bulgaria and the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, which
the caretaker government tabled in the European Commission last
week.

The Finance Minister expressed gratitude for Nava and his team's
 support and assistance offered to Bulgaria for the successful
implementation of structural reforms.

Dimitrova-Beecher said that part of her ministry's efforts are
directed at increasing the efficiency, lawfulness and control in
 the area of public procurement. Among the measures taken to
this end she listed the drafting and proposal of legislative
changes jointly with the Justice Ministry and other departments
with the aim to achieve greater transparency, strengthen the
focus on preliminary and subsequent control over public
procurement, and improve the coordination between responsible
institutions in this process so as to achieve a unified approach
 to the application of national and EU law.

The forthcoming reforms will ensure the implementation of the
European Commission's requirements for effective and lawful
spending of resources planned at the national and EU level, the
Finance Ministry said.

RY/DS





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