Commissioner warns Bulgaria could lose recovery plan funds

2 months ago 16

There is a real risk that Bulgaria will lose money under the EU Recovery Plan, Bulgarian Commissioner Iliana Ivanova said in an interview with bTV on Monday, citing the lack of a stable government.

Bulgaria – currently governed by a caretaker cabinet with GERB’s Dimitar Glavchev as prime minister – faces its seventh election in three years after another snap vote in June when GERB failed to secure the necessary support for its nominated government. If the next two attempts to choose a cabinet fail, early parliamentary elections will be called.

“The lack of regular power does not have a good impact on Bulgaria’s position in Europe,” Ivanova told bTV.

Bulgaria could receive a total of €5.69 billion under the recovery plan, “but there is a real risk of losing funds,” said Ivanova, who succeeded Maria Gabriel after leaving the Commission almost a year ago to enter national politics.

Due to pending reforms and unadopted legislation, the European Commission has only made one recovery plan payment to Bulgaria, although it should have made four by now.

Still, Ivanova believes the country can partially catch up.

According to the Commissioner, the lack of a regular government is causing the delay in payments and the process of joining the Euro area.

A stable government that gives clear signals and cooperates with Bulgaria’s European partners is highly desirable, Ivanova said, hoping that “this will happen soon.”

However, it is not yet known who will be proposed as Bulgaria’s commissioner for the next five years.

Ivanova’s portfolio includes innovation, research, culture, education and youth.

(Krassen Nikolov | Euractiv.bg)