Bulgaria is set to receive 267 million euro in preliminary payments from European Union funds until the end of 2009, European Regional Policy Commissioner Danuta Hübner said, as quoted by Bulgarian news agency BTA. Accumulative for the period 2007/09, those payments will come to 635 million euro, Hübner also said. The money will be allocated to Bulgaria from the European Fund for Regional Development and the European social fund.

Hübner presented in Brussels the primary direction for augmentation of the cohesional policy of the European Union in relation to Bulgaria – its rational development and the processing and proper application of the funds in view of the looming financial crisis. From 2007 to 2013, in the EU will be invested 347 billion euro for applying the cohesional policy, some of which is applicable to Bulgaria. “The aforementioned investment is an assured financial source for the real policy when dealing with long-term challenges,” Hübner said.

Changes in the European regulations for assuring eased access to resources for executing such policies are currently being contemplated, according to Hübner. For instance, the measures have in mind the acceleration of preliminary payments for implementing bigger projects in EU member states, increased security for smaller and medium-sized businesses and reduction of red tape when approving of finances allocated for a certain country. December 16 2008 will see a declaration passed in the EC in which concrete measures will be indicated in regard of superior use of European-based financial resources in relation to the pending economic crisis and in retrospect to the long-term strategy of the EU for regional economic development. This is also applicable for energy projects, the environment and the social sphere.

According to a statement from Hübner, the current problems that Bulgaria is experiencing with receiving European funds from the Phare pre-accession funds programme have no bearing on the decision to speed up the preliminary payments allocated from the European funds.

Under the new plan, in 2008 Bulgaria is to receive 988 million euro more in the form of preliminary payments. Following that, Bulgaria, along with all other European countries, will have to justify those funds according to European ruled and regulations.