Coronavirus response: €511 million from EU Cohesion policy to support Bulgarian economy

The Commission has approved an amendment to the Bulgarian Operational Programme ‘Innovation and Competitiveness’, allowing the mobilisation of €511 million from the European Regional Development Fund and the Cohesion Fund to help Bulgarian economy in dealing with the adverse effects of the coronavirus crisis. This financial support includes grants for working capital to micro, small and medium sized enterprises, equity investments and loan guarantees. Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms, Elisa Ferreira, said: “Bulgaria was one of the first Member States to take advantage of the Coronavirus Response Investment Initiative. These measures have a short-term objective of crisis relief but Bulgaria will also continue to benefit from additional EU support for crisis repair to allow its economic recovery”. Modifying this programme is possible thanks to the exceptional flexibility provided under the Coronavirus Response Investment Initiative (CRII) and Coronavirus Response Investment Initiative Plus (CRII+), which allows Member States to use Cohesion policy funding to support the most exposed sectors to the pandemic, such as healthcare, SMEs and labour markets. Further details are available here and on the dedicated Coronavirus Dashboard.