Bulgaria’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan: Latest state of play

Summary:

Under the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), the EU response to the crisis triggered by the pandemic, Bulgaria was initially allocated €6 267.3 million in grants. In line with the RRF Regulation, on 30 June 2022, the European Commission recalculated the maximum grant amounts for all Member States; this resulted in a just over 9 % cut for Bulgaria, lowering the total to €5 688.8 million. To take this into account, as well as factor in the impact of inflation, Bulgaria submitted a modified national recovery and resilience plan (NRRP), removing and downscaling several measures. The updated plan has an estimated cost of €6 185.3 million; the financing above the maximum RRF financial contribution is expected to be supplemented with national (and private) co-financing. Bulgaria has not yet submitted a REPowerEU chapter, for which another €480.1 million in grants are available. Bulgaria's NRRP ranks eighth as a share of grants relative to gross domestic product (GDP) – 9.3 % of its 2019 GDP from 10.2 % originally (the RRF amounting to 5.2 % of EU-27 2019 GDP). RRF funds have to be paid out by end-2026. Bulgaria has so far received one payment worth €1 369 million, which the Commission disbursed on 16 December 2022. The Bulgarian NRRP aims to address the main challenges and systemic weaknesses of Bulgaria's economy. It builds on the national development programme BULGARIA 2030, which proposes solutions for medium-term growth by setting strategic objectives, such as accelerated economic development, demographic upswing and reduced inequalities. The NRRP extends the scope of reforms and investment while ensuring coherence with measures planned under EU cohesion policy. Bulgaria is one of the main beneficiaries of EU funds (measured as a share of GDP) over the 2021 2027 financing period, and complementarity with RRF resources is relevant in several fields. 57.5 % of the NRRP support is for climate objectives, making Bulgaria's plan one of the greenest; 23.1 % supports digital objectives. Both green and digital spending targets laid down in the RRF Regulation have thus been exceeded. The European Parliament participates in interinstitutional forums for cooperation and discussion on the implementation of the RRF, and scrutinises the Commission's work. This briefing is one in a series covering all EU Member States. Third edition. The 'NGEU delivery' briefings are updated at key stages throughout the lifecycle of the plans.

This briefing is part of the series Next Generation EU (NGEU) delivery - How are the Member States doing?

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