Several thousand small and medium enterprises are expected to benefit from the EU Commission's recent investment plan between 2017 and 2020, Eva Paunova, an MEP from Bulgaria (GERB/EPP group), has said.

In an interview with daily 24 Chasa, Paunova has noted that as many as 300 agreements have been signed with Bulgarian businesses that are to receive funding under three deals with commercial banks and a new operational program due to be launched in 2017.

The total value of investment they could draw in the next three years is BGN 1 B (around EUR 500 M), Paunova has noted.

Bulgaria has only secured some EUR 40 M under the so-called Juncker Plan (a popular name for the European Commission's Investment Plan for Europe) aimed at unlocking at least EUR 315 B in public and private investment over the course of several years.

Paunova, however, has added that Bulgaria was one of the first ten countries to seek their inclusion in the "first pillar" of the plan which targets SMEs.

Bulgarian municipalities can also put forward their ideas to entrepreneurs who would like to benefit from the "second pillar" that is mostly related to infrastructure, digital technologies, and energy efficiency.

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