“The former rulers had the opportunity to submit their plan, for which they had 9 months to work. I did not comment on why they decided not to do so, but they decided not to take that responsibility. “
“Money is not in any way endangered. It is absolutely untrue that Greece received their money, nor that it is bathed in money, “said the Deputy Prime Minister. According to him, this year both Greece and Bulgaria will receive 13% of the due amount.
Pekanov said that the cabinet is currently trying to save the Recovery Plan or at least improve the parts that are unsatisfactory.
About half of the projects are improving. This week the overall vision will be ready, the Deputy Prime Minister assured.
“At the end of July, we want to be ready with our improvements.”
When submitting in July, the money will come at the earliest in September, and when submitting later – somewhere in October, explained Atanas Pekanov.
“We are not doing an absolute audit. We keep some of the projects that we think are important, but we upgrade others, introduce new plans and remove things that we think have not been used or set in the best way, “said Atanas Pekanov.
Comparing the resource under the Recovery Plan with the resource of the EU Multiannual Financial Framework, the Deputy Prime Minister pointed out that important priorities can always be included in the operational programs. According to him, many meaningful projects have been received, but there is no technical time to include them in the Recovery Plan. That is why it should be thought to be financed by other items and components.
Pekanov highlighted as important the disciplining effect of the Recovery Plan, due to the requirement for certain reforms against receiving funds.
He identified the distribution of EU funds between the capital and the individual regions of the country as a serious problem. Five regions of the country are among the poorest in Europe, however, Sofia, which is not among them, continues to take a large resource from the country’s total resources, which according to Pekanov is not a sustainable model.
“Sofia, which is developing relatively well, should not take a disproportionate part of these funds,” Atanas Pekanov said.
All currently provided funds under the Plan are a grant part – the EC will withdraw a loan, and will give us funds that we will not repay, he explained.
“We receive the funds, then we decide how to get them to the business, the final beneficiaries, etc. Most of them will also arrive as grants, but some will arrive as loans.
13% is the pre-financing that our country will receive this year, weeks after the approval of our national plan. Everything else will come after we show that the things we promised really happened, said Pekanov.
“Everything has to be proven to have happened and only then will we be able to get the money. This is the right approach. ”Atanas Pekanov expressed the opinion that some institutions and ministries are not sufficiently prepared, because for years they have not built the capacity to be able to make important interventions in the economy.
Bulgaria dealt with the pandemic in the worst possible way, we have some of the worst indicators in the whole world, commented Atanas Pekanov.
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