site.btaBulgarian Defence Industry Sector Can Apply for EUR 500 Mln in Grant Financing under EU Programme

Bulgaria's Ministry of Economy and Industry and the Directorate-General for Defence Industry and Space of the European Commission on Tuesday organized an information session on the Act in Support of Ammunition Production (ASAP).

The EU ASAP Regulation aims at ensuring that the EU can ramp-up its production capacity to urgently deliver ammunition, and if requested missiles, to Ukraine and to help Member States refill their stocks by introducing targeted measures.

At the session, officials of the Ministry and of the European Commission familiarized representatives of government institutions and of Bulgarian manufacturers of ammunition and missiles with the procedures, requirements and timeframes for the submission of proposals. The calls are already published on the website of the European Commission. The programme is managed directly by the Commission, which evaluates the project proposals with the help of independent experts. 

Bulgarian defence industry companies are able to apply for EUR 500 million grants under the EU programme for the 2023-2025 period, Deputy Economy and Industry Minister Irina Shtonova said at the opening of the information session.

She stressed that her Ministry is ready to help each one company, whether state-owned or private, if it experiences any difficulties in the applying process. 

"We attach great importance to popularizing and attracting as many Bulgarian defence-industry companies to participate under the ASAP programme," the Deputy Minister said.

Shtonova stressed further that the programme will open up new opportunities to Bulgarian ammo and missile manufacturers to improve their competitiveness, to expand and modernize their production capacity, to strengthen their supply chains and develop new capabilities.