The majority of the Bulgarians have a positive attitude towards the EU, according to all sociological surveys. To a certain degree they see it as the rich uncle, who grants subsidies as gifts to the good kids. This rich uncle is really important for the poor Bulgarians, as they do rely on his money for the improvement of their everyday life – being persuaded on a daily basis that this state has no money. Of course, this is not true and the EU itself tries in any possible way to persuade the Bulgarians that it is not the magic wand, which will solve their problems, but that the overcoming of the latter is up to them. In the best scenario Brussels could stimulate and support to a certain degree the implementation of the programs, projects and plans for the bettering of everyday life here in the name of European cohesion and solidarity.

In the end of last year, which was the final one of the 2007 – 2014 EU programme period, the government assessed the implementation of the operative programmes and the absorption of the funding, granted by Brussels over those 7 years. Bulgaria managed to absorb by the end of 2014 a total of 67% of these EUR 9.3 bln. The state has the right to continue with the financing under the funds from the previous period across 2015 as well, so there are quite good chances for the increasing of this percentage. One should bear in mind however that 1/3 of the money remains unused and it should be paid in the course of 12 months only, so the strongly criticized administrative capacity of the state might turn into a fatal barrier for the reaching of that goal. The same thing happened last year, for instance, when 2 out of 7 operative programmes were frozen due to gaps in administration and the country didn’t receive a single euro under those. One way or another, the target this year is for the Brussels’ approval /or certification/ of subsidies, totally amounting to some EUR 2.5 bln. According to expert forecasts, Bulgaria won’t be able to absorb at least EUR 86 mln. of those under 3 EU programmes.

Are EU funds that important to Bulgaria? There is an argument on the issue and the actual benefits of these investments. It is a fact that 2/3 of public investments here are implemented with European funding due to the lack of own financial resource. However, over the past 8 years this country has received a bit over EUR 9 bln. in subsidies, at a GDP of some EUR 250 bln., or less than 4% of GDP. One should also bear in mind that Bulgaria has paid an installment of over EUR 3 bln. across that period, despite being a net beneficiary, receiving the greatest amount of EU funds per capita. Obviously Brussels is right, when saying it is not a wealthy uncle, granting gifts, who can’t and shouldn’t solve Bulgarian problems. The words of Vice Premier Meglena Kuneva seem right in this context, as she underlines that Brussels gives only instruments and not a magic wand for the solving of domestic issues. However, many Bulgarians see the EU, one way or another, as the only hope and example for an eventual improvement of everyday life here…

English version: Zhivko Stanchev