Brussels, 22/06/2007 (Agence Europe) - On Friday, the European Commission reached agreement with Bulgaria on its National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF) for cohesion policy 2007-2013. In their NSRF, the Bulgarian authorities describe how they are going to invest EU funding worth €6.8 billion (at today's values) over seven years in line with the Lisbon agenda. The adoption procedure has now been completed, says a Commission press release, with the Commission agreeing with its priorities, indicative annual allocations, and list of operational programmes.
To ensure that by 2013, Bulgaria becomes a competitive EU economy with a high quality of life, incomes and social awareness, the NSRF goals set are (1) to strengthen the competitiveness of the economy to achieve high and sustainable growth, and (2) to develop human capital to ensure higher employment, income and social integration. These goals are translated into four national strategic priorities, three thematic (basic infrastructure, human capital, business environment & good governance) and one territorial (balanced territorial development) and into seven operational programmes.
The negotiations on the operational programmes between the Bulgarian authorities and the European Commission are well-advanced and the programmes are expected to be approved in autumn 2007. For information: http: //http://www.ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/atlas2007/fiche/bg_en.pdf (gb)