Bulgaria's Finance Minister Plamen Oresharski inaugurated the "National Strategic Reference Framework" forum in Sofia on Wednesday.

The participants in the forum discussed the National Strategic Reference Framework, which is the main document in Bulgaria determining the strategic aims of the policy for development and the priorities that would be co-financed by the EU Structural instruments for 2007-2013.

Bulgaria will receive almost EUR 6 B from the Structural and the Cohesion Funds of the EU and we are to decide how to utilize it, Minister Oresharski underlined.

The Structural and Cohesion Funds are EU's main instruments for supporting social and economic restructuring across the EU. They account for over one third of the European Union budget and are used to tackle regional disparities and support regional development through actions including developing infrastructure and telecommunications, developing human resources and supporting research and development.

The National Strategic Reference Framework focuses on the development of the Bulgaria economy competitiveness, human resources development, improvement and development of the infrastructure and stable and balanced regional development and modernization of the state administration.

Minister Oresharski explained the final document would be ready by September.

The discussion, organized by the Finance Ministry with the support of the Dutch Government, was attended by the Netherlands' Ambassador Willem van Ee.

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