A European Commission spokesperson stated on Monday that Bulgaria has taken “credible steps to ensure the implementation” of its Recovery and Resilience Plan milestones in response to the nation’s request for a revision of its payment schedule from the EU Budget. The spokesperson noted that the Bulgarian government’s approval in April of a draft Act on Tackling Corruption of Public Office Holders could potentially resolve the suspension of payments under the Recovery and Resilience Plan. This reference pertains to the April 16 approval of a bill intended to implement the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) and address the European Commission’s recommendations.
The Commission has previously withheld the disbursement of the second and third payments under the NRRP due to insufficient progress on anti-corruption reforms. Furthermore, the spokesperson reported that Bulgaria submitted a request in earlier April to revise its recovery plan after discussions with the Commission. This proposed revision includes deferring the deadlines for two specific milestones.
The first milestone, concerning the establishment of a politically independent anti-corruption body, would be moved from the second to the fourth payment request. The second milestone, related to making this anti-corruption body operational, would be shifted from the third to the fifth payment request. The spokesperson concluded by advising that the Commission will assess this revision and subsequently submit a proposal to the Council for a decision reflecting the proposed changes to the Bulgarian Recovery Plan.
Topics: #recovery #plan #commission
