Bulgaria has requested from the EC a second payment under the Recovery Plan

Bulgaria has asked the European Commission for a second payment of a €724 million grant under the Recovery and Resilience Plan, the institution said. The request includes 66 milestones and 5 performance targets, of which 22 are related to legislative changes.

The targets cover investment in science centres, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and education innovation, research and innovation, smart industry, building renewal, digitisation of the electricity grid, energy efficient street lighting, renewables and electricity storage, and digitisation of rail transport.

The request for payment also includes a series of reforms aimed at improving pre-school, school and higher education as well as lifelong learning, promoting eHealth, supporting the decarbonisation of the energy sector by promoting the use of renewable energy and energy efficiency improvements, and supporting sustainable urban transport.

Further reforms relate to ensuring an accessible, efficient and predictable judiciary and fighting corruption. Other reforms cover areas such as judicial mediation, insolvency procedures, e-government, management of state-owned enterprises, anti-money laundering and public procurement. Reforms to improve the social and health sectors are also covered.

Bulgaria's Recovery and Resileince Plan amounts to €5.69 billion in grants. As with all Member States, disbursements are performance-based and conditional on Bulgaria's implementation of the investments and reforms set out in its Recovery and Resilience Plan.

The Commission now has two months to assess the request, after which it will send its preliminary assessment to the Council's Economic and Financial Committee, which will take a final decision within three weeks. Only then the payment can be made.