The European Commission has decided to temporarily withhold 215 million euros from Bulgaria’s second payment under the Recovery and Resilience Plan. An EC spokesperson confirmed the decision to Bulgarian media Club Z, explaining that the withheld funds are tied to Bulgaria’s failure to meet a key milestone related to the reform of the Anti-Corruption Commission.

As a result, Bulgaria will receive 439 million euros instead of the initially requested 653 million, marking a reduction of nearly one-third. According to Brussels, the measure is not final, and Bulgaria has six months to fulfill the required conditions in order to access the remaining funds. The Commission emphasized that it will continue active dialogue with Sofia and offer support to help complete the reforms.

The Bulgarian government’s second payment request included 59 milestones and targets, with 20 linked to legislative changes. To meet them, amendments were made to 15 laws, and three entirely new ones were adopted. However, despite these steps, the milestone related to the restructuring of the Commission for Combating Corruption and for the Confiscation of Illegally Acquired Assets (CCACA) remains incomplete.

This is not the first delay in Bulgaria’s RRP payments. The country initially withdrew its second payment request on April 17 due to unfulfilled measures and fears of potential financial losses. After adjustments to the national plan were approved by EU member states on July 18, Bulgaria resubmitted the request on July 23.

Following its assessment, on October 5 the European Commission proposed the temporary withholding of part of the funds, citing the incomplete reform of the anti-corruption body as the reason. The Commission reiterated that Bulgaria must demonstrate full compliance with this key milestone before the withheld amount can be released.