Bulgaria’s Minister of Environment and Water Julian Popov and the Vice President of the European Investment Bank (EIB) Kyriakos Kakouris signed a service agreement for advisory support for projects in the field of the environment.
According to the agreement, the EIB will provide to the Programme “Environment” 2021-2027 expert support on the effective implementation and management of strategic investments under the Water, Waste and Biodiversity Priorities. The total value of the agreement amounts to a 4,889,575 Bulgarian lev grant (approximately 2,5 million euros). The implementation deadline is 15 January 2027.
“I would like to thank the Representation of the European Commission and the EIB for our cooperation. Many people think that the Ministry of Environment and Water is dealing with the pelicans in the Srebarna reserve. This is correct, but the MOEW has a very important role to play in all investment processes in the country, which are closely linked to moving the EU towards the climate neutrality goal of NetZero 2050,” said Minister Popov. “In order to move in this direction, the rapid advisory support we are receiving with this agreement for specific projects would be very valuable. We have set ourselves the goal of reducing the administrative burden that is in our hands to speed up and simplify the investment process in the country – this is our promise for 2024.”
The advisory support agreement covers regional water infrastructure projects and other priority environmental investments in Bulgaria. This will facilitate the absorption of European Union grants while promoting climate action and environmental sustainability in the country.
“We are providing consultancy services at the highest level and building on our excellent cooperation with the Bulgarian authorities to offer expertise in the sectors that will underpin Bulgaria’s sustainable development in the years to come,” said Kyriakos Kakouris.
In the period 2021-2027, through this agreement, the EIB will continue to provide expert support in the implementation of projects with beneficiary Water Supply and Sewerage (WSS) operators. In addition to expertise for the implementation of strategic investments in the WSS sector, the EIB Advisory Service will also provide support under the Waste priority for the development of projects related to waste separation and reuse centres. Within the Biodiversity sector, the foreseen support includes site visits to identify the presence of invasive non-native species and non-typical species and delineating the distribution of target habitat types and species to ensure the implementation of the measures of the National Priority Action Framework for Natura 2000.