Bulgaria to contribute 100M euro to ‘Investment Plan for Europe’
Bulgaria has announced that it will contribute 100 million euro to projects benefiting from finance by the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), at the heart of the 315 billion euro Investment Plan for Europe, also known as the “Juncker Plan“.
The contribution will be made through co-financing of projects approved by the Bulgarian Development Bank.
Bulgaria is the eighth EU country after Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Luxembourg, Poland and Slovakia to announce a contribution, even before the EFSI becomes operational, the European Commmission said on June 30.
European Commission Vice-President Jyrki Katainen, responsible for Jobs, Growth, Investment and Competitiveness, said: “I am delighted to hear that Bulgaria has announced a contribution of 100 million euro to the Investment Plan.
“I had very good discussions with Prime Minister Boiko Borissov when I was in Sofia earlier this year about how Bulgaria could benefit from the Investment Plan and soon we will see the concrete effects of its implementation,” Katainen said.
European Commission Vice-President Kristalina Georgieva, responsible for Budget and Human Resources, said: “Bulgaria is ahead of the curve as part of the first group of EU member states to contribute to the Investment Plan for Europe.
“I expect that Bulgaria will achieve a significant multiplication effect on its 100 million euro investment and that through the participation in the Investment Plan we will see much needed private finance flowing into the economy to stimulate higher growth, create more and better paid jobs and lift up the standard of living in the country,” said Georgieva, who is Bulgaria’s representative on the Commission.
(Photo: Clive Leviev-Sawyer)
