BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 15. Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Food of Bulgaria, Lozana Vassileva, and the Executive Director of the State Fund “Agriculture,” Iva Ivanova, held a working meeting at the Ministry of Agriculture and Food with representatives of the National Association of Municipalities in Bulgaria, Trend reports.
They discussed the implementation of intervention “II.G.6 – Investments in basic services and small-scale infrastructure in rural areas” and planned subsequent joint actions for its successful execution.
“For the Ministry of Agriculture and Food, the Association of Municipalities in Bulgaria is an important partner – both in implementing the Strategic Plan and in pursuing rural development policy,” said Deputy Minister Vassileva at the opening of the meeting.
She noted that the evaluation after the first two rounds of applications under the intervention was positive, recalling that the total budget for the intervention is nearly 1 billion leva, allocated to 215 municipalities in rural areas of the country in the form of guaranteed budgets.
“Applications for support have been submitted by 201 municipalities, with three municipalities fully within their guaranteed budgets, 185 municipalities having remaining funds, and 13 municipalities exceeding their budgets. We found a remaining budget of nearly €67 million under the intervention and, according to the indicative program, we plan for the third application round to start in the autumn. This will give the remaining 14 municipalities, which have not submitted a single project proposal, the chance to apply for funding under the intervention,” the Deputy Minister added.
The aim of the intervention “Investments in basic services and small-scale infrastructure in rural areas” is to promote social inclusion and improve the quality of life in rural areas by enhancing transport connectivity between settlements, increasing the energy efficiency of public buildings, and modernizing the water supply and street networks.
During the meeting, Deputy Minister Vassileva informed the representatives and leadership of the NAMRB that the introduction of the single European currency in Bulgaria on January 1, 2026, will not in any way affect the financial resources available to municipalities or the size of their guaranteed budgets under the Strategic Plan.
She explained that until December 31, 2025, all contracts for the provision of non-repayable financial assistance with applicant municipalities will be concluded in both currencies – leva and euro – and after January 1, 2026, there will be no need to amend or supplement them solely for currency conversion.
“The introduction of the euro will not affect the validity of existing contracts referring to leva or linked to the leva, nor will it affect their deadlines and obligations. After adopting the single currency, there will be no need to amend already concluded administrative contracts for the provision of non-repayable financial assistance due to the conversion of the contract amounts and the value of investments,” Deputy Minister Vassileva concluded.
