Bulgaria submits official recovery and resilience plan

The Commission has today received an official recovery and resilience plan from Bulgaria. This plan sets out the reforms and public investment projects that Bulgaria plans to implement with the support of the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF).

The RRF is at the heart of NextGenerationEU which will provide €800 billion (in current prices) to support investments and reforms across the EU. It will play a crucial role in helping Europe to emerge stronger from the crisis and secure the green and digital transitions.

The presentation of the plan follows intensive dialogue between the Commission and the Bulgarian authorities.

Bulgaria's recovery and resilience plan

Bulgaria has requested a total of €6.6 billion in grants under the RRF.

The Bulgarian plan is structured around four pillars: Innovative Bulgaria, Green Bulgaria, Connected Bulgaria and Fair Bulgaria. The plan includes measures in areas such as decarbonisation of the economy, education and skills, research and innovation, smart industry, energy efficiency, sustainable agriculture, digital connectivity, social inclusion and healthcare. Projects in the plan cover the entire lifetime of the RRF until 2026. The plan proposes projects in all seven European flagship areas.

Next steps

The Commission will now assess Bulgaria's plan based on the eleven criteria set out in the Regulation and translate their contents into legally binding acts. This assessment will include a review of whether the plans contributes to effectively addressing all or a significant subset of challenges identified in the relevant country-specific recommendations issued in the context of the European Semester. The Commission will also assess whether the plan dedicates at least 37% of expenditure to investments and reforms that support climate objectives, and at least 20% to the digital transition.

The Council will have, as a rule, four weeks to adopt the Commission proposal for a Council Implementing Decision.

The Commission has now received 26 recovery and resilience plans. It will continue to engage with the Dutch authorities to help it deliver a high quality plan.

The Commission has adopted positive assessments of 22 plans. Its assessment of the Swedish, Polish and Hungarian plans remains ongoing.