PM Denkov in Brussels: Second payment under Recovery and Resilience Plan will be made by the end of the year

Prime Minister, Acad. Nikolai Denkov, on June 28, arrived in Brussels to participate in the European Council meeting. On the first day of his visit, the Prime Minister met with the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, and the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.

"We discussed international priorities - Schengen, the euro area, protection from migrants at the European border, assistance to Ukraine and support in all respects. These are all European issues and Bulgaria will have support wherever it is needed," Prime Minister Nikolai Denkov told a briefing.

He gave the example of border protection, for which 45 million euros have already been allocated, which in the coming months will be included in the equipment, experts from Europe will be invited so that a unit will be established in Bulgaria to coordinate the activities on protection from migration in the EU.

Regarding the two candidates for EU commissioner, the PM said that they both have extremely high qualities, but the decision lies with the European Commission.

Referring to the Recovery and Resilience Plan, Nikolai Denkov expressed hope that in a few months the delay in drafting laws and reforms would be caught up and the second payment under the plan would come by the end of the year.

Asked about Bulgaria’s admission to the euro area, Denkov said that the government and the support from the coalitions was linked to a clear commitment to continue in this direction.

"Apart from the technical preparations, which have not been completed, there are several bills that need to be adopted and have been presented to the National Assembly. What we have been discussing is how to make the process easier and some more ideas to help people understand that there will be no shocks for a country that has been in a currency board for 25 years. For us it is much easier to switch from the lev to the euro unlike other countries," Nikolai Denkov said.

On Thursday, Denkov will hold talks with NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, at the Alliance's headquarters. Meetings with other European leaders are also planned.

On 29 and 30 June, the Bulgarian PM will participate in the regular European Council meeting, which will discuss the war in Ukraine and the EU's support for Kiev, as well as issues in the areas of economy, defence and migration.