Topical Information

The National Association of Municipalities in the Republic of Bulgaria (NAMRB), the Ministry of Agriculture and Food (MAF), and the State Fund Agriculture (SFA) held a working meeting to review the progress of municipal investments under the 2023–2027 CAP Strategic Plan for Agriculture and Rural Development. The participants united around a common objective: preventing the loss of European funding for municipal projects and accelerating their implementation.

“We will do everything possible to ensure that no funding is lost under the calls that have already been contracted. So far, we have fulfilled this commitment, but there are still several issues that we need to address together,” said Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Food Krasimir Chakarov at the opening of the meeting.

NAMRB was represented by Deputy Executive Director Teodora Dacheva and Senior Expert Simeon Petkov. Representatives of the municipalities of Nikolaevo, Rodopi, Chavdar, Mirkovo and Pravets also participated, raising specific questions related to project implementation, public procurement procedures and administrative requirements.

Deputy Executive Director of the State Fund Agriculture Iva Ivanova presented updated information on the implementation of the intervention “Investments in Basic Services and Small-Scale Infrastructure in Rural Areas.” Under the first call, 536 contracts have been signed, while public procurement procedures have not yet been launched for 45 projects. Under the second call, 104 contracts have been concluded, with 23 projects still awaiting procurement procedures. Under the third call, which is currently in the contracting phase, 160 contracts have already been signed, while procurement procedures have not yet started for 124 projects.

She informed the participants that the Ministry and the State Fund Agriculture had already sent notifications to municipalities with signed contracts that have not yet launched procurement procedures or submitted the documentation required for ex-post control, so that contract amendments can be signed in due time and advance payments can be requested.

During the meeting, NAMRB Deputy Executive Director Teodora Dacheva presented the results of a rapid survey conducted among municipalities immediately before the meeting. According to the collected information, the actual progress of many projects is more advanced than reflected in the official reports, as numerous municipalities are already carrying out contractor selection procedures, concluding construction and supervision contracts, or preparing the documentation required for contract amendments and advance payments.

The participants agreed that the Ministry of Agriculture and Food, the State Fund Agriculture and NAMRB should strengthen the exchange of information on delayed projects so that the causes of implementation difficulties can be identified at an early stage and solutions can be sought for each individual case. They agreed that close coordination between institutions and municipalities is essential for accelerating project implementation.

The meeting also addressed the implementation of strategies under the Community-Led Local Development (CLLD) approach. In response to a question raised by NAMRB regarding the future organisation of project appraisal, Deputy Minister Chakarov announced that amendments are being prepared under which project evaluation will be carried out by the Managing Authority within the Ministry of Agriculture and Food, while the State Fund Agriculture will perform sample-based verification checks. According to him, this change will shorten assessment timelines and reduce the administrative burden associated with the implementation of local development strategies.

NAMRB also raised the issue of the forthcoming Council of Ministers decree providing interest-free loans to municipalities for the implementation of projects. Krasimir Chakarov informed the participants that the draft decree had already been submitted to the Ministry of Finance for preliminary coordination and expressed his expectation that the procedure would continue once the national budget process is completed. He also noted that the Ministry is preparing additional measures to facilitate project implementation, which will be presented after the necessary interinstitutional consultations have been finalised.

The meeting outlined concrete follow-up actions aimed both at accelerating the implementation of already approved municipal projects and at improving coordination between the Ministry of Agriculture and Food, the State Fund Agriculture, NAMRB and municipalities. Participants agreed that active dialogue and the timely resolution of emerging issues are key to ensuring the effective absorption of the funds available under the CAP Strategic Plan.