site.btaNational Culture Fund Is Severely Understaffed - Minister

The National Culture Fund is severely understaffed and it has to operate BGN 90 million this year and next, said Culture Minister Nayden Todorov on Wednesday at a hearing in Parliament in connection with the restart of the procedures under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan announced in February.

The Fund employs a total of 11 people, who should take care of the whole Bulgarian culture. "I do not think that this is possible, and our efforts are directed in this direction - to increase the staff of the Culture Fund, and then funding," he said.

The Minister said that at the moment there is no need to increase the funding as there are funds available under the Recovery and Resilience Plan but they will not be there in two years' time and preparations should be made for afterwards. According to him, if the Culture Fund exists normally and not on the verge of survival, then at some point |we will not be talking about financing culture, but about investment, because all the money invested in it will be returned. "This is the path what we are aiming at and we are currently preparing the administrative framework on how to make this happen," Todorov added.

He said that a "very serious revision" of the non-working Financial Support for Culture Act is needed. He said many private events would die if public funds were withdrawn because there is no opportunity to fund them privately.

Of the restart of the procedures under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, announced by the National Culture Fund in February this year, Nayden Todorov explained that the conditions for application have been revised.  He specified the conditions for two programmes have been revised. Previously, one required 20% self-financing, and the other - at least 10%. Now self-financing has been set at 10%, said the Minister. Also the previous conditions excluded organizations registered after January 1 2020.

Nayden Todorov also touched on the issue of forming a government. "In my opinion there is no government in Bulgaria at the moment because you all see is  what divides you but you do not look for what unites you - this is also part of culture", he told MPs.