On April 6, 2011, Ms. Liliyana Pavlova – Deputy Minister of Regional Development and Public Works presented before the Committee on European Affairs and Oversight of the European Funds the current state and progress achieved in the implementation of the:

• “Regional Development” Operational Program 2007 – 2013;
• Cross-border Co-operation Programmes 2007 – 2013;
• Projects under the ISPA Programme/Cohesion Fund (Regulation 1164/94) in the “Environment” sector, managed by the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works.

Following a review of the current state of play under each of the above listed funding sources, a series of concrete questions have been posed by the Committee on European Affairs and Oversight of the European Funds in relation to the topic. The following key messages from the Meeting can be highlighted:

• The sustainable pace in the implementation of the “Regional Development” Operational Program 2007 – 2013, also being reported at the previous hearing on the topic, has been maintained. Grant award contracts amounting at about 1,7 bln. leva have been concluded by March 31, 2011 (54% of the allocated resources for the present Programming Period) and about 410 mln. leva (13% of the allocated budget) have been paid. For the past 4,5 months, over 300 mln. leva have been contracted under the Programme and at the same time new at about 100 mln. leva have been paid;

• The main challenges and difficulties occurred in the implementation of the “Regional Development” Operational Program 2007 – 2013 up to the moment have been marked, together with the undertaken and envisaged corrective measures. The forthcoming activities by the end of the year under the Program have also been marked, as in parallel to them efforts are also being put in the preparation for the participation in the next Financial Perspective (2014 – 2020);

• A progress has also been achieved in the implementation of the Cross-border Co-operation Programs 2007 – 2013 with the participation of the Republic of Bulgaria. The first projects for funding under the Programs with the Republic of Turkey and the Republic of Macedonia have been approved in March 2011. The Memorandum of Understanding for the implementation of the “Bulgaria – Serbia IPA Cross-Border Programme” has also been signed in March 2011. The submission of the Draft Ratification Law on the Memorandum for ratification at the National Assembly of the Republic of Bulgaria is pending. The main challenge for the implementation of these Programs at this stage is related to the provision of the necessary co-financing for the Bulgarian beneficiaries;

• The current status of the projects under the ISPA Programme/Cohesion Fund (Regulation 1164/94) in the “Environment” sector, managed by the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works has also been discussed where 88% of the contracted amount have been successfully absorbed. This indicator is expected to be further improved in the course of the present year with regards to the submitted request for extension before the European Commission in relation to the Integrated Water Project for the city of Rousse.

In the end of the Meeting, the Chairperson of the Committee on European Affairs and Oversight of the European Funds Ms. Monika Panayotova congratulated the team of the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works for the highly sustainable contracting and payment rate under the “Regional Development” Operational Program 2007 – 2013 as well as for the socially visible effect of the implemented projects by the moment. She announced also in conclusion the two key moments that are noted for this Program, namely:

• Reforms in the country are really being implemented with EU funded support under this Program, regarding also the social and health infrastructure;
• The competitive factors of the future, incl. the sustainable development and energy efficiency in particular, have been addressed with priority.

Ms. Monika Panayotova also welcomed the envisaged measures under the “Regional Development” Operational Program 2007 – 2013 for the construction of broadband networks in the small villages. As she highlighted, an excellent example for the effectiveness of such kind of support is the Republic of Estonia. The existence of this type of infrastructure has an extremely fast positive impact on the economy and also on keeping the youth in the respective villages, together with the overall country development in a broader context.

The presentation and discussion of the information on the progress under the Programmes and projects above is a part of the series of hearings before the Committee on European Affairs and Oversight of the European Funds aimed at exerting political control over the activity of the state administration structures engaged in the management of the European funds in the country. The materials and the debates of the meetings will be used in the elaboration of the Interim and Annual Reports of the Committee on the absorption of the EU funds in the Republic of Bulgaria.

The Report from the hearing can be found at (available only in Bulgarian):

http://www.parliament.bg/bg/parliamentarycommittees/members/240/reports/ID/2654