The caretaker government announced on Monday that it has successfully secured EUR 400 million representing the second and third payments of Bulgaria’s Recovery and Resilience Plan. Caretaker Prime Minister Andrey Gurov stated this achievement followed an extension of the deadline for meeting key conditions, which was secured after negotiations with the European Commission. Speaking alongside Deputy Prime Minister for EU funds, Maria Nedina, Gurov explained that the extended requirements pertain to anti-corruption legislation and the establishment of mechanisms for investigating the Prosecutor General.
He detailed that upon taking office in late February, the caretaker cabinet faced two primary objectives: submitting a request for the fourth payment under the Plan and securing nearly half a billion euros from the second and third tranches. According to Gurov, the release of these funds had been stalled due to insufficient progress on anti-corruption reforms and the lack of an independent investigative mechanism for the prosecutor general. He noted, “In early April, we requested EUR 900 million under the fourth payment.
More importantly, we did not write off the EUR 400 million that had been abandoned by the previous government.”
Gurov added that Bulgaria had faced the risk of a final rejection from the European Commission on May 4. However, following intensive negotiations spearheaded by Nedina and her team, the deadline for fulfilling the necessary conditions was extended, allowing the caretaker government to secure the funds.
Topics: #caretaker #gurov #government
Securing the funds is positive, but the reliance on a caretaker government makes the long-term outlook uncertain.