site.btaUPDATED European Funds for Competitiveness Director General: 284 Proposals Submitted Under First National Recovery Plan Procedure

Some 284 project proposals under the first procedure of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), Technological Modernisation, have already been submitted and the number of submissions and interest in the procedure is growing every day, Iliana Ilieva, Director General of the European Funds for Competitiveness Directorate General, told BTA in an interview.

She said that procedures for investments require longer preparation, explaining that applicants have to answer questions and then the information is published online so that it is accessible to all other applicants. The last days of this type of procedures are the most intense, she added, giving as an example to procedures related to technological modernization from the previous programming period. In the first one 1490 project proposals were submitted, of which 496 in the last five days. In the next procedure, out of 1827 project proposals, 989 were submitted in the last five days (more than 50%).

Ilieva said that interest in the procedure is so big that the funds may not be enough or everyone and most likely a list of reserves will be formed. The practice so far also shows that about 10 percent are usually "unsuccessful" applicants. The reasons are various, for example they do not meet the requirements.

The evaluation is carried out in two stages - administrative compliance and an eligibility check, and the second stage consists of a technical and a financial evaluation, assessing the quality of project proposals. According to her, usually in the second stage there is a threshold for a certain number of points and if they are not collected, the projects are rejected.

Ilieva explained that there are many requirements to comply with when EU funds are made available. For this reason some companies decide to handle the preparation on their own, while others prefer to focus on their business and outsource the preparation.

Ilieva said that her Directorate is always improving the application conditions by reducing the administrative burden. Under the Technological Modernisation procedure, companies apply and are evaluated electronically. In preparing the procedures themselves, technical meetings are also held with the employers' organisations closest to the companies.

Iliyana Ilieva commented that the current procedure is aimed at micro, small and medium-sized companies, however, large enterprises could, for example, focus on the procedure for the installation of renewable energy capacities for own consumption. Companies from all sectors of the Bulgarian economy will be eligible, except agriculture, forestry and electricity generation. Their average number of employees must be up to 1,500.

She added that under the innovation procedures, cooperation between large enterprises and small and medium-sized enterprises is eligible. Those who are interested are encouraged to follow the latest information published by the Directorate and Ilieva and her team are there to answer specific questions.

By the end of 2022, there will also be a procedure for the direct provision of funds to innovative SMEs that have received the Seal of Excellence quality label. She explained that these are enterprises that have applied for Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe, and for the activities they have been approved, they will directly receive funding, as this has not happened so far through the operational programmes. What is interesting about this procedure is that foreign companies operating in Bulgaria will also be able to be supported.

The application for the Technological Modernisation procedure, which has a budget of BGN 260 million, is open until September 21, 2022, online through the Information System for Management and Monitoring of EU Funds in Bulgaria. Approved applicants can receive between BGN 180,000 and BGN 700,000 for new equipment, technical modernisation and software.

Asked when the first sums would be disbursed, Ilieva said that , when the contract is signed, these funds are considered to be granted. It depends on the speed of implementation of the activities that the companies submit the payment requests, and they can also receive a certain advance funding.

The second NRRP procedure with a total of 30.6 million BGN for SMEs will be opened in mid-October, with projects under which companies from almost all sectors of the economy will be able to improve their digital marketing and information security. Grants will range from BGN 3,000 to BGN 20,000, with no co-financing required.