EU Pushes Bulgaria to Maintain Reform Momentum

The European Commission on Thursday welcomed Bulgaria’s progress in establishing an independent anti-corruption office and said it aims to release the remaining EU recovery funds allocated to Sofia by the end of August.

Bulgaria is set to receive €6.2 billion ($7 billion) in grants under the European Union’s post-pandemic recovery program. The funding is tied to a series of reforms agreed with Brussels, including the creation of an independent anti-corruption authority.

Sofia has already received around €3.3 billion ($3.7 billion) from the program. However, progress toward unlocking the remaining funds has been slowed by prolonged political instability, with Bulgaria holding five parliamentary elections over the past three years.

“We all know there is the deadline of August, so the goal is to unlock resources by then and for this we must maintain momentum on reforms”, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said after talks with Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev.

(reuters, max)