The European Commission has temporarily suspended €152,896,496 from Bulgaria’s third installment under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP). Bulgaria had requested a total of €1,618,592,629 for the third tranche, which means the country will receive roughly €1.47 billion until the withheld funds are released.

The Commission cited Bulgaria’s failure to fully implement two key milestones as the reason for the suspension. The first milestone concerns the establishment and effective functioning of the Anti-Corruption Commission. The second relates to the adoption of legal measures ensuring the accountability and criminal liability of the Prosecutor General. On December 1, Brussels formally communicated its assessment to Sofia, allowing one month for the submission of observations. Bulgaria replied on December 3, stating that it had no comments.

This is the second instance of partial suspension under the NRRP. In November, the Commission temporarily withheld €214.5 million from the second installment, which totals €653 million, also due to delays in implementing a key milestone tied to the Anti-Corruption Commission, though the issue differed from the current one.

The release of the €152 million will depend on Bulgaria taking the necessary steps to satisfy the Commission regarding the two outstanding milestones. The country has six months to meet these requirements. In parallel, Sofia may submit formal comments on the decision within a two-month period.