Bulgaria has sent the European Commission the fourth payment request under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP). The request is worth EUR 900 million and takes into account the implementation of 25 stages and objectives, 12 of which are related to reforms in the field of energy, integrated public transport, electric mobility, as well as measures to counter corruption and reform in pre-school and school education and vocational education and training, etc.
The request includes investments with a huge public impact in key areas such as healthcare, social services, education, culture and others. It is planned to modernize over 50 hospitals, centers for interventional diagnostics and endovascular treatment of cerebrovascular diseases, provide medical care in over 100 remote settlements, provide emergency medical assistance by air, support people with disabilities, build new homes for the elderly, renovate schools, kindergartens and dormitories, as well as build a STEM environment in thousands of schools, invest in culture and digitize Bulgarian cultural heritage, lower electricity bills for Bulgarian households through the construction of solar hot water supply systems. It also includes support for business - grant schemes for grants in the field of ICT and cybersecurity in SMEs and to assist enterprises in the transition to a circular economy. It also covers the digitalization of processes from farm to fork, modernization of the Unified Court Information System, the “Monitorstat“ system, renovation of the Social Assistance Agency, etc.
The European Commission will assess the payment request within two months.