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The European Commission has temporarily halted the preliminary assessment of Bulgaria’s request for the third payment under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, worth 1.6 billion euros, according to information provided to BNR.
The pause comes even though the Commission approved the most recent changes to Bulgaria’s plan on November 5. The process is expected to resume once EU member states also give their approval. According to the sources, these latest amendments differ from those attached to the second payment, which the Council endorsed on July 11, though no further details were provided. It also remains unclear how long it will take for the funds to be released.
Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov stated two days ago that he expected the 1.6 billion euros to arrive before the end of the year. Bulgaria submitted its request to Brussels on October 1. For now, there is no indication whether a portion of the third payment might be withheld, as occurred with the previous tranche.
On November 11, the country received 438.6 million euros from the second payment, despite having requested 653 million euros. The Commission deducted 214.5 million euros due to Bulgaria’s failure to carry out the planned reform of the anti-corruption commission included in the national plan.
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