NATIONAL BUDGET WILL FUND PROJECTS FROM THE STOPPED EU PROGRAMMES

On Friday the board of the coalition decided to cut down the programmes of ministries which provide for renovations and purchase of new vehicles. The money will be reallocated to kindergartens, schools, community centers and infrastructural projects.

National Association of Municipalities in Republic of Bulgaria (NAMRB) has already sent a list of almost 1000 at the amount of more than 1.3 billion BGN. Children and social facilities are about 500 of them.

"Those are not only for constructing new buildings, but also for reconstruction and modernization of the existing ones", the executive of NAMRB Ginka Chavdarova explained. A workgroup meets today which is to filter the projects. Chavdarova called for clear criteria valid to all in order to remove all doubt that the funds will be allocated to mayors close to certain parties.

Representatives of the majority admitted that money will be earmarked for municipality projects of social significance, similar to those of the previous government. Chavdarova was definite that the list only consists of urgent priority projects and no luxuries.

Mayors requested money for roads, especially in places where local schools have been closed down. A big part of the projects, amounting to 120 million BGN, had been approved by Operational Programme "Regional Development" but after Brussels stopped the funding they were left without funding, Chavdarova explained.

"Selection criteria are clear - they need to have direct impact on the economy, to create new jobs, to have social effect and they need to be completed in one year", chair of the parliamentary group of Bulgarian Socialist Party Angel Naidenov explained. Te confirmed that the funds will be allocated for projects that were to be supported by the stopped EU payments.

The head of the Budget and Finance Committee in the National Assembly Rumen Ovcharov announced that those 250 million are separate form the other government investment programme at the amount of 400 million. It is also a part of the package measures to address the economic crisis. 90 million of the funds will be given to municipalities by the government while the other 160 million are cut-offs from the ministerial capital programmes. Some of them could be allocated for country roads and roads in municipalities.