The European Commission gave its green light on Thursday 7 April to the Bulgarian and Swedish recovery plans under the Next Generation EU Recovery Plan, bringing the number of approved national plans to 24.
On a visit to Sofia, the president of the EU institution, Ursula von der Leyen, praised the Bulgarian plan as one of the most climate-friendly plans, with “almost 60%” of the €6.3 billion grant package allocated for this purpose (see EUROPE 12813/20).
In particular, many of the investments will help reduce Bulgaria’s dependence on fossil fuels, especially Russian ones. She cited the tripling of energy production from renewables by 2026, the closure of coal-fired power stations by 2028, the development of interconnections with Romania and Greece, and electrical mobility.
Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov stressed the importance of “geothermal energy” for his country.
In the digital field, Mrs von der Leyen spoke of the digitalisation of public services, the reinforcement of citizens’ skills, and the development of broadband internet in rural areas.
On the reforms to be implemented, Mrs von der Leyen noted those of the Anti-Corruption Commission and the functioning of the Prosecutor General, foreseen in the reports on Bulgaria under the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (CVM).
See the proposal for a decision approving the Bulgarian plan: https://aeur.eu/f/15y
See its annex: https://aeur.eu/f/15z
See the European Commission’s analysis: https://aeur.eu/f/161
Swedish recovery plan. In the afternoon, Mrs von der Leyen was in Stockholm, where she handed over to Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson the European Commission’s positive analysis of Sweden’s €3.3 billion grant-only recovery plan.
Detailing some of the key measures of the Swedish plan, which allocates 44.4% of the budget to the climate transition and 20.5% to the digital transition (see EUROPE 12921/18), the president of the EU institution said she was impressed by the city of Stockholm’s determination to be the first capital city in the world to become “’carbon positive’”.
Mrs Andersson said that the ‘green’ industrial revolution underway in her country, including environmentally friendly mining, battery and steel production, will serve to prove that it is possible to combine climate transition and economic growth.
See the proposal for a decision approving the Swedish Recovery Plan: https://aeur.eu/f/10m
See its annex: https://aeur.eu/f/10n
See the European Commission’s analysis: https://aeur.eu/f/10k
The EU institution is still examining the Hungarian and Polish recovery plans. The Dutch plan has still not been officially transmitted to the institution. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)