The Council of Ministers adopted a decision specifying the responsibilities and complementing the designated institutions in the Republic of Bulgaria for the implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Facility of the European Union resulting from Regulation (EU) 2021/241 of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a Recovery and Resilience Facility, adopted on 12 February 2021. Since a Regulation has already been adopted and in force, Decision No 757 of the Council of Ministers of 2020 is repealed.
The designated national institutions responsible for the coordination and implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Facility of the European Union are retained – the Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance jointly coordinate on the issues related to the participation of the Republic of Bulgaria in the Facility, specifying and complementing their responsibilities.
The Directorate “Central Coordination Unit” in the administration of the Council of Ministers is designated to coordinate the preparation, planning and communication of the participation in the Facility. The Economic and Financial Policy Directorate of the Ministry of Finance coordinates the reporting of the measures and actions under the implementation of the Facility within the framework of the European Semester and analyse the impact of the Recovery and Resilience Plan on the economic indicators. The National Fund Directorate of the Ministry of Finance coordinates the preparation and signing of agreements for the implementation of investment projects included in the Recovery and Resilience Plan between the Ministry of Finance and the relevant competent authority and acts as a central coordinating unit at the national level with responsibilities for the establishment of the management and control system, planning, budgeting, control of implementation, submission of payment requests to the Commission and receipt of funds from the Facility. The State Aids and Real Sector Directorate in the Ministry of Finance shall coordinate the documents on the projects included in the Recovery and Resilience Plan for compliance with the applicable state aid rules before their approval.
The Executive Agency “Audit of European Union Funds” attached to the Minister of Finance is designated to independently confirm the estimated costs of the projects included in the Recovery and Resilience Plan and carry out the audit work under the Facility according to the requirements the European Commission.
The aim is to establish an effective mechanism at the national level to implement coordination activities with the European Commission concerning Bulgaria’s commitments to implement the Recovery and Resilience Facility.
