Minister Donchev: 25% of the budget under OP Technical Assistance remitted

“By the end of May 2012, about 50% of the total budget under Operational Programme (OP) Technical Assistance had been negotiated. This is slightly lower than the average for all OPs. Some 25% of the funds, or slightly above the average, has already been remitted,” Minister of EU Funds Management Tomislav Donchev said during the tenth meeting of the Monitoring Committee of OP Technical Assistance. According to Donchev, in 2012, Bulgaria registered a 136% increase in the funds agreed under the OP, compared to 2010, which is a good indicator of administrative efficiency. As weaknesses of the reported period, Donchev pointed out the insufficient pace of negotiating projects and the lack of interest on the part of beneficiaries.

OP Technical Assistance is crucial to the overall process of implementation of operational programmes in Bulgaria, because it provides support for the main structures involved in the coordination, management and monitoring of structural instruments. “This is the smallest OP in terms of financial resources - with a total budget of €56,819,427, out of which €48,296,513 is co-financing by the European Regional Development Fund. Nevertheless, it is the most important one from a strategic point of view for the absorption of funds under the other OPs,” stressed Minister Donchev.

“There is already good news for the operation of the programme in Bulgaria,” said Athanasios Sofos who is monitoring the implementation on behalf of the European Commission. He explained that the inspections in the regional towns where a network of information centres is being established were completed and people there are already motivated to work.

“As of May 31, 2012, a total BGN 66,030,000, or 59.42% of all funds under this OP have been negotiated, announced Ivan Ilkov, an expert at the Ministry of EU Funds Management. A total of BGN 27,975,899 have been paid, while certified costs exceed BGN 15,708,000, or 14.14% of the OP’s budget. “By the end of this year, the negotiated funds are expected to reach 83% and the remitted money - 36%,” added the expert.

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