15.10.2021

THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS ADOPTED THE NATIONAL PLAN FOR RECONSTRUCTION AND SUSTAINABILITY OF BULGARIA

The Government adopted a Decision of the Council of Ministers approving the National Plan for Reconstruction and Sustainability of Bulgaria, according to the EU Mechanism for Reconstruction and Sustainability (MFA) and instructed Deputy Prime Minister Atanas Pekanov to present it to the European Commission in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2021/241. This was announced by the press center of the government.

The draft National Plan for Restoration and Sustainability of the Republic of Bulgaria, approved by Decision No. 411 of the Council of Ministers of 5 May 2021, was upgraded, supplemented and uploaded on the website https://www.nextgeneration.bg/ on 20 July 2021, as thus becoming accessible to the general public. During its revision, more than 70 meetings were held with representatives of the institutions of the European Commission services, ambassadors, representatives of international institutions in the country, representatives of civil society, the National Council for Tripartite Cooperation, employers and trade unions, and the Economic and Social Council, reminded by the Council of Ministers.

It was sent as a draft of the EC on July 21, 2021, as a result of which, in the period September - October 2021, a new round of negotiations was held on political and technical topics and issues. As a result of the consultations, a high degree of coherence of the document with the EC was achieved.

In order to meet the main objective of the Recovery and Sustainability Plan, namely to promote economic and social recovery and ensure resilience after the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the proposed version of the Plan provides for 59 investments and 46 reforms, as well as a number of changes in more than half of the previously planned projects.

Key changes from previous versions of the draft Plan include: Significantly strengthening the focus on decarbonisation; Increased support for business in the introduction of financial instruments and partial replacement of previously provided grants; Increased investment focus in the social sphere (education, healthcare, social support); 13 new investment projects; Reforms in the areas of health, electricity, social affairs, the rule of law and justice, the business environment and energy.

The plan lays the foundations for a green and digital transformation of the economy in the context of the ambitious goals of the Green Deal. The green transition occupies a leading position in the Plan, concentrating 45.8 percent of the total planned expenditures. Digitalization is also present above the required by Regulation 20 percent, forming 22.5 percent of the total estimated costs.