The European Commission formally approved Bulgaria's recovery plan under the bloc's €800 billion post-pandemic rescue fund. The plan includes 47 reforms and 56 investments to be financed by €6.27 billion in grants over the next five years, 1.9% to 2.9% of additional GDP growth by 2026, according to the Commission. [Brussels approves Bulgaria’s recovery spending plan – Politico]
The country is one of the last to obtain Brussels' green light, largely due to its political turmoil — there were three general elections in 2021 — leading to multiple rewrites of the plan.
The news comes as plans from Poland and Hungary remain outstanding while Brussels seeks further guarantees on the independence of the judiciary and corruption issues, respectively. The Netherlands haven't yet submitted theirs.
The plan allocates €3.7 billion — nearly 60 percent of the plan's total resources — to de-carbonizing the economy, including a tripling of renewable power by 2026. It would also slash emissions from the power sector by 40 percent by 2025 over 2019 levels.
The plan also pins 2038 as the phase-out date for coal energy, but it gives no detail on the closure of lignite-powered plants.
In addition, the plan includes anti-corruption measures, including reforms to "ensure the accountability and criminal liability of the General Prosecutor," strengthening anti-corruption watchdogs, improving competition in public tenders and the governance of state-owned enterprises, the EU executive said.
The Council will now have one month to confirm the Commission's positive assessment.
