/ world today news/ The Bulgarian authorities have admitted that the European Commission has reimbursed Bulgaria only 220 million euros under the old Operational Program “Environment” (OPE). This is clear from a response to BGNES from the office of the Deputy Prime Minister for European Funds, Tomislav Donchev.
The response was prepared jointly with the Program’s Managing Authority, which is under the Ministry of Environment and Water. It also makes it clear that, in practice, the government has only “frozen” the recovery of OPE funds from the EU budget to the state budget.
The monthly reports on the rates of absorption of European funds show that five months after Prime Minister Boyko Borissov announced how the EC was “unfreezing” payments under the OPE, there are practically no indications of serious tranches to the Bulgarian budget. In mid-November 2014 before the deputies in the National Assembly Borisov announced that Bulgaria should receive BGN 800 million. under OP “Environment” 2007-2013 However, it is clear from the response of Deputy Prime Minister Donchev’s office and the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications to BGNES that half a year later, our country has received only half of the money that Borisov claimed would be returned from Brussels to Sofia. The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications explains the lack of payments with the words: “the reason why in the last 4 months under OP “Environment” 2007-2013 there was no change in the percentage of payments from the EC is that the reimbursement of the funds is carried out on longer periods after accumulating a certain amount of payments and submitting them to the EC.”
The Administrative Office of OPE also claims that payments to municipalities continue, but with funds from the state budget. “Unlike payments at national level, for which it is essential to be made in a timely and consistent manner, reimbursements from the EC are made over longer periods. Currently, OPE’s efforts are focused on verifying and paying expenses incurred by beneficiaries in order to restore rhythm and make up for delays caused by the lack of working capital Expenditure paid in the period: January – March 2015 is to be included in a payment request to the Commission, after which it will be restored,” noted the Managing Authority of the operational program.
Although not mentioned in the MA’s response to OPE, the delay in sending the reimbursement certificates may also be related to ongoing problems in the control and management of the European programme.
BGNES reminds that the financing of the projects with money from the budget, regardless of the fact that Brussels has apparently delayed the recovery of funds, is carried out, since at the end of 2015 all construction activities must be finalised. Those projects that are not completed before the end of the program period will lose the European funding and the finishing works will be paid for from the budget. From the end of 2013 to the end of 2014. OP “Environment” was frozen by the EC due to systemic violations in public procurement and the management of the program in the period 2010-2013. Because of the violations, the country agreed to recognize the imposition of a financial correction of 156 million. BGN
A year and a half after the start of the new program period, Bulgaria still does not have an Operational Program “Environment” 2014-2020 approved by the EC. The reason – the stubbornness of the rulers not to accept the request of Brussels that the recipient of the funds for the repair of the water transmission and sewerage network should not be the municipalities, as it was before, but the water supply companies.
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