Chakarov (right) and Oresharski (left) are both on the committee that drafted the criteria for picking the projects that will be financed with EU funds. Photo by Kameliya Atanasova (Sofia Photo Agency)
Bulgaria will issue the first call for projects funded by the EU environment operational programme in March, the country's environment minister Dzhevdet Chakarov told reporters on Wednesday.
Chakarov and finance minister Plamen Oresharski are part of the committee that established the criteria for picking the projects.
The top priority are water collection and treatment facilities on Bulgaria's Black Sea coast. Water collection and treatment funding accounts for nearly 70% of the EUR 1,8 B that Bulgaria will receive under the programme that runs until 2013.
Over the next several weeks, ministry experts and local authorities will meet to speed up the drafting the projects, with both ministers urging on Wednesday local authorities to take a more active role in the process.