Brussels, 15/06/2015 (Agence Europe) - European funds will constitute the red line of the Commissioner for Regional Policy, Corina Cretu's visit to Bulgaria on Monday 15 and Tuesday 16 June, as part of the new 2014-2020 operational programmes.
On the first day of the visit, the Romanian Commissioner is due to meet the Bulgarian Vice Prime Minister for Economic Policy, Tomislav Donchev, as well as the Minister for Regional Development, Denitsa Nikolova. Together, they will inaugurate Tutrakan Boulevard in the City of Ruse, a cross-border project between Bulgaria and Romania. Later in the day, they will visit another European Union-funded project, the river information services on the Danube. In the evening, the Commissioner will meet the Mayor of Sofia, Yordanka Fandakova.
On Tuesday morning 16 June, Cretu will meet the Prime Minister of Bulgaria, Boïko Borissov. This will be followed by a meeting with the ministers responsible for operational programmes, including the Minister for Finance and Tourism. Implementation of the 2014 and 2020 operational programmes will also be discussed, as well as fund absorption for 2007-2013. In the afternoon, the Commissioner will visit “Eleven”, a body whose task is to speed up the development of start-up companies.
Bulgaria will receive the equivalent of €7.6 billion for the 2014-2020 period, as well as just under €3.6 billion from European Regional Development Funds (ERDF), €2.3 billion from Cohesion Funds and slightly more than €1.5 billion from the European Social Fund (ESF). Finally, the youth employment initiative will contribute around €55 million. On 15 June, the country's absorption rate for European funds for the 2007-2013 period stood at 76.5%.
The Commission's visit was originally planned for May but had to be postponed following an electricity cut that paralysed the Belgocontrol air traffic control centre. (Pascal Hansens)