Bulgaria received EUR 1 billion under the Recovery and Resilience plan last week, Prime Minister Rumen Radev said here on Wednesday at the beginning of the Council of Ministers’ session.

The funds are directed at the implementation of vital projects – the building of kindergartens, renovations of buildings, the purchase of medical helicopters and the development of battery-based energy storage systems, Radev said. According to him, during the last few weeks the Government has managed to renegotiate parts of the engagement for the fifth payment on the Recovery and Resilience Plan. Radev noted that the planned introduction of a water meter fee has been scrapped. He added that work is underway to protect the funds from the Just Transition Plan for the regions of Stara Zagora, Kyustendil and Pernik.

“We are not lying to our European partners, and we are not making empty promises, rather we are looking for options for valuable projects, which will protect the Bulgarian interests”, said the Prime Minister.

Rumen Radev congratulated the ministers on the achieved results during the renegotiations of the engagements and said that the Government will move forward with its work at the same pace. The Prime Minister is confident that Bulgaria will receive a great part of the funds for the next payment of the Recovery and Resilience Plan.