site.btaBulgaria Signs Operational Arrangements Agreement with European Commission on Recovery and Resilience Plan

Bulgaria signed an operational arrangements agreement with the European Commission. This is the last necessary agreement in relation to the Recovery and Resilience Plan before this country submits a formal request to receive funds under the mechanism, the Ministry of Finance reported on Monday.

Bulgaria is the Member State with the fastest negotiated and signed operational arrangements in the whole EU. Although the Bulgarian plan was the 24th adopted, Bulgaria is the 15th country with operational arrangements with the EC. The process usually takes between 5 and 7 months, and has been as long as 10. The Bulgarian government managed to finalise the process in less than 3 months after the approval of the Bulgarian plan by the EU Council, the Ministry said.

This confirms that there is no delay in the implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Plan.  In the coming days, the first request for funds under the mechanism will be sent and, after a two-month assessment by the EC and a Council procedure, they are expected to arrive in the autumn.