The Monitoring Committee for the “Environment” Program 2021-2027, at its first meeting held on December 2, 2022, approved an indicative annual work program for 2023 worth over 2 billion BGN.

The head of the Program Environment 2021-2027 Management Authority Galina Simeonova presented the program as approved by the European Commission with a budget of over 3.5 billion BGN. The funds will be directed for the improvement of water supply infrastructure, air quality, waste management and biodiversity protection, as well as prevention and management of the risk of floods, landslides, and forest fires. Simeonova emphasized that through each and every project, Bulgaria’s greenest program will continue to contribute to environmental protection and to create conditions for development and growth.

The members of the Monitoring Committee approved the methodologies and criteria for evaluating project proposals under the first direct grant procedures under the new program, which will be announced at the beginning of next year: “For cleaner air!” under Priority 5 “Air” and “Implementation of measure 4 of the National Framework for Priority Actions” under Priority 3 “Biological diversity”.

Over 610 million BGN will be invested to improve air quality in 21 municipalities* where excessive levels of fine particulate matter (PM) were recorded in the period 2017-2021. Air pollution with PM is a cause for the premature death of over 10 thousand Bulgarian citizens in 2020 according to data from the European Environment Agency. The program will address domestic heating, which is a major source of air pollution during the winter months. More than 80 thousand Bulgarian households on heating with wood and/or coal will be supported. They will receive new environmentally friendly and energy-efficient heating equipment free of charge, provided they hand in their old high-emission solid fuel heating equipment for recycling.

The procedure under Priority 3 provides support for the management bodies of protected areas from the Natura 2000 network to be able to carry on their functions. The implementation of the potential project is directly linked to the approval of the amendments to the Law on Biological Diversity by the Bulgarian Parliament, which will structure these bodies. The funds are intended for the purchase of equipment, machinery, inventory, motor vehicles, mobile and communication devices. This will ensure a smooth start for the “Natura 2000” management approach without further delays of technical or logistical nature.

*Asenovgrad, Blagoevgrad, Pernik, Sofia, Burgas, Veliko Tarnovo, Vidin, Vratsa, Gorna Oryahovitsa, Dimitrovgrad, Kardzhali, Lovech, Montana, Nesebar, Pazardzhik, Pleven, Plovdiv, Ruse, Smolyan, Haskovo, and Shumen.