Bulgaria has received a new tranche of 438.6 million euros in grants from the European Union under the Recovery and Resilience Facility, the European Commission confirmed. However, the transfer of an additional 214.5 million euros has been postponed due to an unfulfilled reform requirement connected to the Anti-Corruption and Asset Recovery Commission.

This payment represents the second installment for Bulgaria under its National Recovery and Resilience Plan, which has a total allocation of 6.17 billion euros. In late July, Sofia submitted a revised request for the second payment, amounting to 653 million euros. Brussels approved part of the sum, with the remainder contingent on the completion of a pending milestone related to anti-corruption reforms.

The withheld funds correspond to milestone 218, which specifically concerns reforming the Commission for Combating Corruption and the Confiscation of Illegally Acquired Assets (CCAPA). The European Commission highlighted that this milestone remains incomplete, and the remaining funds will be released once Bulgaria meets the requirement.

Bulgaria’s revised plan, submitted on April 16 and approved by the EU Council in July, included updates under the REPowerEU initiative, addressing energy challenges and accelerating green transition efforts. The plan covers 28 reforms and 12 investments, including measures in education, public administration transparency, electricity market liberalization, energy poverty mitigation, and energy storage development.

With the latest payment, Bulgaria has now received 29.5% of its total RRP allocation, while the country has completed 38.2% of its set milestones and objectives. The remaining amount will be disbursed once the anti-corruption reform is fully implemented.