The European Commission has approved an amendment to the Bulgarian Innovation and Competitiveness operational program, allowing the mobilization of EUR 511 million from the European Regional Development Fund and the Cohesion Fund to help the Bulgarian economy cope with the adverse effects of the Coronavirus crisis.

This financial support shall include gratuitous capital grants for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, capital investments and loan guarantees.

Commissioner for Cohesion and Reform Elisa Ferreira said: "Bulgaria was one of the first Member States to benefit from the Investment Initiative in response to Coronavirus pandemic. These measures have a short-term crisis assistance objective, but Bulgaria will continue to benefit from additional EU support for economic recovery from the crisis.

The amendment of this program is possible thanks to the exceptional flexibility provided under the Coronavirus Response Investment Initiative (CRII) and the Coronavirus Plus Investment Initiative (CRII+), which allows Member States to use cohesion policy funding to support sectors most exposed to the pandemic, such as health, small and medium-sized enterprises and labor markets.

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