Tomislav Donchev, Minister of EU Funds Management: We can absorb about 75% of the funds under the ISPA programme

Margarita Dimitrova

It is very early to make final estimates but there are good prospects for the absorption of 75 - 76% of the funds under the ISPA programme, announced yesterday Minister of EU Funds Management, Tomislav Donchev. A total of €870 mln were contracted under the pre-accession programme out of envisaged grants of over €1.5 bn. In fact, 56% of these have been remitted. Generally speaking, about 40 financial memoranda for the sectors Transport and Environment were signed. The programme's deadline expires at the end of this year but the payments continue. There is an agreement with the European Commission on some of the projects, such as the water cycle of Varna, Shumen, Smolyan and Balchik, for an extension of the deadline until the end of 2011. So far, talks on another 7 memoranda continue.

Tomislav Donchev announced that a very important meeting with representatives of the World Bank and the European Investment Bank will be held on September 17. There, the Bulgarian side will present the major infrastructure projects for which expert help is needed. In all probability, the package will include five projects from the sectors Transport and Environment. Foreign experts will not be hired for the projects which have already been launched, said Donchev.

Outside managers will work with agencies in charge of the respective procedure, while their remuneration will be transferred under the technical assistance part of the programme, and will be linked to the interim and final payments. 

A total of €622.9 mln, or 7.86% of the funds allocated under operational programmes, had been utilised by September 1 this year, according to the data released by Donchev yesterday. EU subsidies stand at €6.67 bn and the total amount, national co-financing included, is €8.019 bn.