The European Commission has given a positive assessment of Bulgaria’s amended recovery and resilience plan. It includes a special chapter on REPowerEU to achieve Europe’s independence from Russian fossil fuels by 2030.

The plan is now worth €6.17 billion in grants and covers 50 reforms and 51 investments.

The changes to Bulgaria’s initial plan are based on the need to take into account objective circumstances that affect the implementation of some of the measures initially planned. These include increased implementation costs due to high inflation, supply chain disruptions, changed market demand, and more efficient ways of implementing the measures.

The revised plan places a strong emphasis on the green transition, with 49.9% of the total allocation and 99.5% of the REPowerEU allocation earmarked for measures supporting climate objectives. The reforms and investments included in the REPowerEU chapter contribute significantly to the environmental dimension of the plan. These measures aim to tackle energy poverty, protect vulnerable consumers, support the liberalization of the electricity market, promote the deployment, storage, and use of renewable energy, and improve the balancing market.

The Bulgarian plan maintains its ambition in the field of digital technologies, allocating 20.6% of the total amount of funds granted to support the country’s digital transition. It contains measures aimed at increasing the coverage of very high capacity networks throughout the country, improving digital skills, and digitizing public administration and businesses.

The plan also retains its important social dimension with measures aimed at modernizing education, improving the provision of long-term care, and access to healthcare.