site.btaUPDATED Sofia Applies for Second Payment under Recovery Plan

Bulgaria has officially applied for a second EU payment under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), the Finance Ministry reported on Monday. The application was submitted on Saturday after the country implemented over 30 measures in the last three months and thus made it possible to offset a major delay in the NRRP's implementation. By submitting the application, Sofia regained access to BGN 9 billion in investment resources from the EU Recovery and Resilience Facility.

Later on Monday, the European Commission confirmed it has received the Bulgarian request for a second NRRP payment.

The second payment is expected to amount approximately to BGN 1.4 billion, the Finance Ministry said. It has been contingent on the implementation of 66 stages and measures, including 22 ones related to legislative changes. The second-payment procedure is the most complicated and demanding phase of the whole NRRP payment process, the Finance Ministry said.

Out of the 66 stages for the second payment, 62 have been completed, which puts the fulfillment rate at 94%. One of the unfulfilled stages was intended to minimize the public procurement procedures involving only one bidder in 2022. Another one concerned the abandonment of a project for an intermodal transport terminal in the Danubian city of Ruse due to a lack of investor interest within the limits of the planned budget. The other two unfinished stages were about the completion of a public procurement procedure for the supply of train equipment, and the adoption of a natural persons bankruptcy law. Further talks will be held with the European Commission to keep the funding for the last two stages as they can be implemented at a later date.

The Commission has two months to assess the Bulgarian application. It will then have to consult the EU Economic and Financial Committee before making the payment.

To receive a complete assessment, Bulgaria also needs to adopt secondary-legislation frameworks for the Mediation Act, the Energy Act and the Energy from Renewable Sources Act, to open a procedure for building renewable energy installations and energy storage systems, and to make sure that contracts are signed for the digitization of the railway between Ruse and Kaspichan in the northeast of the country, the Finance Ministry said.