EU Approves Bulgaria's Rural Development Program

News.bg, Feb 22, 2008

The commissioner on agriculture and rural development Mariann Fischer Boel signed the decision for approval of Bulgaria's rural development program 2007-2013, informed the press center of the Bulgarian agriculture ministry.

In several days the European commission is expected to make the first advance payment under the program in compliance with the Regulation (EU) 1290/2005.

The Rural development program has a six time higher budget than the one of the pre-accession program SAPARD.

The anticipated funds to be acquired for the whole period 2007-2013 amount to 3 bln and 242 M EUR, of which 2 bln and 609 M EUR from the European agriculture fund for rural development and 633 M EUR provided by the state budget.

The program will be applied throughout Bulgaria but the geographical scope of the measures is different depending on the strategic priorities and aims which are to be reached at the end of the 5 year period as well as on the differentiation with the functional programs under the structural funds in order to avoid double funding.

Detailed regulations will be prepared for each of the program's measures and will be published in the State newspaper. Guidelines for the potential applicants are being prepared currently.