EC pays out 896 million euro to Bulgaria under NextGenerationEU
The European Commission (EC) said on July 31 that it had paid out 896 million euro to Bulgaria under its fourth Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) request, following the fulfilment of a broad set of milestones and targets.
The payment reflects progress on important reforms and investments, supporting three issues, the EC said.
These include the rule of law and the business environment, including anti-corruption measures introducing a politically and financially independent Anti-corruption Commission for preventing and countering corruption among persons holding public office, and the introduction of rules to regulate lobbying activities, the Commission said.
The second is the increased use of renewable energy by supporting almost 1400 solar domestic hot water systems or photovoltaic systems to produce electricity in households.
The third is the development of sustainable infrastructure and transport through new public rail service contracts and legal frameworks for zero- and low-emission mobility, such as electric mobility rules and low-emission zones.
The EC said that the July 31 payout follows Bulgaria’s fourth payment request for a total of 1.1 billion euro, submitted on April 2 2026, and partially greenlighted by the Commission on June 18 2026.
The Commission listed three milestones where “additional steps are still needed”.
One milestone concerns the entry into force of legislation on public transport; another the entry into force of legislation on water supply and sewerage; and one concerning support for the cultural sector.
Following the Council’s favourable opinion, the Commission adopted a decision to disburse the funds linked to the milestones and targets deemed satisfactorily completed.
“The Commission will consider the disbursement of the remaining funds once Bulgaria has addressed the outstanding milestones and target,” the EC said.
With this payment, Bulgaria has now received 68 per cent of its total 6.17 billion euro allocation under the RRF, the Commission said.
(Photo: G Schouten de Jel)
