Bulgaria will contribute EUR 100 M towards projects financed by the European Fund for Strategic Investment (EFSI), the Finance Ministry in Sofia has said.

The contribution will be made through co-financing of projects approved by state-owned Bulgarian Development Bank, the Finance Ministry said in a statement on Monday.

Bulgaria is the eighth member state to announce a contribution, even before the EFSI becomes operational, the EU Commission said on its website.

Another seven EU member states - Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Luxembourg, Poland and Slovakia - have already announced their intentions to participate in the EFSI through their national development banks.

European Commission Vice-President Kristalina Georgieva, responsible for Budget and Human Resources, commented: "Bulgaria is ahead of the curve as part of the first group of EU Member States to contribute to the Investment Plan for Europe. I expect that Bulgaria will achieve a significant multiplication effect on its €100 million investment and that through the participation in the Investment Plan we will see much needed private finance flowing into the economy to stimulate higher growth, create more and better paid jobs and lift up the standard of living in the country."

EFSI is the main component of the European Commission’s Investment Plan for Europe also known as the ‘Juncker Plan’. Unveiled by European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker in November 2014, the plan aims to revive investment in strategic projects around Europe by mobilizing EUR 315 B in investment for the period 2015-2017 to boost the real economy.

The European Parliament voted on the regulation establishing EFSI earlier this month. The Fund is scheduled to start operations by the beginning of September and mobilize additional public and private investment in Europe in the coming years.

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