Bulgaria to receive 29 billion euro under the new EU multiannual financial framework

Agreement was reached that Bulgaria is one of the countries that will receive more funding, by over 1 billion euros more in the new EU budget and for the first time an additional 200 million euros are to be provided for the country for the least developed regions - to strengthen competitiveness, growth and job creation. This was announced by Prime Minister Boyko Borissov on July 21 at the end of the five-day European Council summit.

In the conditions of the severe crisis caused by COVID-19 all over the world and during extremely difficult negotiations in Brussels, the Bulgarian Prime Minister defended the preservation of the European financing for the Cohesion and Agricultural Policy. The cohesion policy funding for Bulgaria is envisaged to increase in the next budget period by 800 million euro to 9 billion euro.

All counterparts said that this support for Bulgaria is deserved, said Prime Minister Boyko Borissov, to whom European heads of state and government thanked for the constructiveness and assistance he provided during the talks in Brussels.

European Council President Charles Michel personally thanked the Bulgarian Prime Minister for his fruitful participation, after European leaders congratulated each other on their success early this morning. For his part, Prime Minister Borissov thanked a number of leaders who have supported aid to our country for less developed regions - German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte. "Everyone is convinced that this is right," the Bulgarian PM said.

The total amount of funds that was agreed to be provided for Bulgaria under the new Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) and the Next Generation EU Package is nearly 29 billion euros. "We are one of the few countries that will receive more funds under the new framework. And this given that the total amount of the new multiannual financial framework is 62 billion euros less than the current one," Prime Minister Borissov said.

Another very important point for Bulgaria is the financing under the Fair Transition Fund - half a billion euros is set to be provided for Bulgaria under it. To protect the EU's external border, Bulgaria will receive a total of more than 200m euros for migration and security under the MFF. The new European budget also confirms the EU's commitment to the countries of the Western Balkans, which Bulgaria has always insisted on.

Under the Next Generation EU Package, Bulgaria will be able to count on over 7.7 billion euros in grants. The bulk of these funds, amounting to more than € 6 billion, are under the Reconstruction and Sustainability Mechanism, which will finance public investment and reforms to recover from the crisis and achieve a sustainable, climate-neutral, digitalised and low-carbon economy. In addition to the funds for Cohesion Policy from the MFF, it was agreed that Bulgaria will receive over 650 million euros under the REACT-EU Instrument, which is part of the Next Generation EU Package. They are envisaged to overcome the socio-economic consequences of the crisis. In addition to the funds provided for the country under the MFF Fair Transition Fund, the Next Generation EU Package also includes over 600 million euros for Bulgaria.

Regarding the EU as a whole, the total amount of the Multiannual Financial Framework for the next 7 years will be EUR 1 trillion and 74 billion, and the total amount of the Next Generation EU Package will be EUR 750 billion. Thus, in the next 7 years, the EU will be able to mobilize a total of 1 trillion 824 billion euros. In the Next Generation EU Package, € 390 billion will be provided to Member States in the form of grants. Member States will also be able to use € 360 billion in loans, under the most favourable conditions possible, stemming from the EU's high credit rating.

On the rule of law, agreement was reached, specifying what exactly the link between funding and the rule of law should be - this should be a transparent process respecting the principles of objectivity, non-discrimination and equal treatment of all member states, on an evidence based approach.

Following the insistence of Prime Minister Borissov and his repeated calls to focus on the medical aspect of the COVID-19 pandemic, European leaders agreed to move forward with common decisions through the European Commissioner for Health. PM Borissov especially congratulated the French President Emmanuel Macron, who supported the Bulgarian Prime Minister on this extremely important topic for Europe.

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In the early hours on Tuesday, July 21, after more than 90 hours of talks, the leaders of the EU member states reached an agreement on the long-term EU budget for 2021-2027, which will be worth €1074 billion. The budget will support investment in digital and green transitions.

Alongside the new long-term budget for the EU, they also agreed on the €750 billion recovery package to help the EU tackle the crisis caused by the pandemic. €390 billion from the package will be distributed in the form of grants to member states and €360 billion in loans.

The package will now be subject to technical negotiations by member states and and needs ratification by the European Parliament.