The Bulgarian government expects to restart the procedure for securing the second payment under the Recovery and Resilience Plan by the end of March, aiming to implement at least part of the planned projects. This was announced by Deputy Prime Minister Tomislav Donchev at an extraordinary press conference.

Donchev stated that the deadline for finalizing decisions on which projects will proceed and which will be dropped expires today. Earlier, during a roundtable discussion organized by WCC-DB, concerns were raised that failure to implement the plan’s projects could destabilize the budget, as the anticipated European funding would not materialize.

However, Finance Minister Temenuzhka Petkova dismissed concerns that the unreceived funds would negatively impact Bulgaria’s budget. She explained that EU funds under the Recovery and Resilience Plan are fiscally neutral—matching revenue with expenditure—so there is no risk of financial destabilization.

Former Finance Minister Asen Vassilev, however, criticized the current financial leadership, accusing them of jeopardizing the budget by failing to fulfill the plan’s commitments. He pointed out that the full amount of 10 billion BGN from the plan had been allocated for 2025 and 2026, even though, in his view, the necessary reforms had not been completed.

Bulgaria is expected to receive an official rejection of the second payment in the coming days due to unmet commitments. Donchev emphasized that while a significant portion of the projects had been implemented, many had not progressed at all. He reassured that Bulgaria would use the six-month window following the expected refusal to restart the process without delay.

Donchev also noted that he had been warning for three years about the risk of losing the plan’s funding. He highlighted the energy sector as one of the most vulnerable areas, due to the stringent requirements outlined in the document. Energy Minister Zhecho Stankov warned that by November, the European Commission could order Bulgaria’s coal plants to cease operations, potentially leading to electricity shortages.

WCC-DB disputed these claims, without clarifying why the plan included commitments to limit coal-generated electricity. They argued that Bulgaria’s coal plants had remained operational throughout the winter and continued to function.

Petkova further blamed WCC-DB’s fiscal policies for the sharp rise in budgetary debt, particularly affecting energy security. She questioned the fate of 900 million BGN that Vassilev had withdrawn from the Energy System Security Fund, pointing out that the fund now faces a deficit of nearly half a billion BGN.

Energy Minister Stankov, however, assured that the situation was under control and that household consumers would continue to receive support from the fund when the electricity market is liberalized on July 1. He revealed that upon taking office, he discovered a funding gap exceeding 100 million BGN, but by March, thanks to government measures, the deficit had been stabilized.

Uncertainty remains over whether the planned liberalization of the household electricity market will proceed as scheduled, as some parliamentary factions have submitted requests for a new delay.