Bulgaria faces a real risk of losing significant funds under the Recovery and Resilience Plan due to delayed reforms and political indecision. While the prices of services in the country continue to rise, the lack of progress in energy and the fight against corruption are stopping the economic catching up with Europe. These warnings were made on the air of “Hello, Bulgaria” by the former Deputy Prime Minister for Management of European Funds Atanas Pekanov.
According to Pekanov, the situation with the PSU is critical. “Of the remaining 84 measures for the fourth and fifth payments, which are due this year, only one has been implemented so far. The plan ends at the end of the summer and what we have not done by then is simply lost. There is a real risk that Bulgaria will lose a large part of these 2.5 billion euros”, he said. He cited the blocked reforms in the energy sector, the liberalization of the electricity market and the cases surrounding coal-fired power plants as the main obstacles.
Regarding the eurozone, Pekanov noted that the process is running relatively smoothly, but there are technical and logistical problems. He gave an example of his own difficulties in using ATMs and depositing cash, emphasizing that the banking sector in Bulgaria still lags behind digitalization in countries such as Austria. “The biggest risk in terms of prices is in services. "For goods, prices in Bulgaria and Vienna are often equal, which is frightening," the former deputy prime minister commented.
Pekanov also explained why the country's credit rating is not increasing, despite expectations after the adoption of the euro. "International investors and credit agencies monitor corruption and political instability. Instead of reforming the anti-corruption commission, it was practically closed. This costs us about 350 million euros in frozen funds and sends bad signals abroad," he emphasized.
Regarding the topic of "two-speed Europe," Pekanov expressed the opinion that this is not necessarily negative for major economies, but is dangerous for Bulgaria. "Countries like Poland, Spain and Greece are growing rapidly because they are implementing the reforms that Brussels requires. "We are wasting our time here arguing among neighbors about who came up with the schemes, instead of working on the substance," he concluded.