The Supervisory Committee of Operational Program Environment 2014-2020 decided to support Ukrainian refugees in Bulgaria. At its 17th meeting from 28 July 2022, the members of the public monitoring committee voted on the methodology and criteria for evaluating  project proposals under the procedure “Support to meet the basic needs of refugees from Ukraine through measures implemented by the Ministry of Tourism”. The activities under the procedure are related to the provision of accommodation, breakfast, and lunch for refugees from Ukraine. The necessary funds are provided for 17 000 people by redirecting 30.6 million BGN from priority axis “Waste” to Priority axis 7 “Support for refugees from Ukraine in Bulgaria”.

The possibility of this is provided through the adoption of Regulation 562 by the European Parliament and the Council of April 6, 2022 amending Regulations 1303/2013 and 223/2014 with regard to the Cohesion Actions for Refugees in Europe (CARE). Through the amendments, Member States can finance a wide range of investments in the field of cohesion policy and address migration challenges under the European Regional Development Fund and the European Social Fund.

The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Environment and Water Borislav Sandov, who opened the meeting of the Supervisory Committee emphasized that after the beginning of the military aggression by the Russian Federation towards Ukraine Europe is undertaking a number of changes - legal, institutional and programmatic - to deal with the challenge of a significant influx of people. “The time we live in asks of people to be more socially engaged than ever before. Changes and measures are inevitable, because after February 24 the world cannot be the same,” said Minister Sandov.

The Supervisory Committee also approved the amendment proposed by the Governing Body to the Indicative Annual Work Program for 2022, which sets the period for announcing the procedure “Support to meet the basic needs of refugees from Ukraine through  measures implemented by the Ministry of Tourism (CARE)”, i.e. the third quarter of 2022.