The Juncker Investment Plan aims to revive investments in strategic projects across the EU by mobilizing EUR 315 billion for the period 2015-2017. The European Commission already made it clear that it intended to extend the deadline of that investment scheme. Some EU states have been outrunning others significantly in terms of money allotment under the Juncker Plan. However, it is still hard to say whether that initiative would boost Bulgaria’s economy, because so far only four Bulgarian projects worth EUR 10 million have been approved. In other words, this is a very modest achievement against the backdrop of the lack of investments and the need of a much higher economic growth, low incomes and bad infrastructure.

In one year only the European Fund for Strategic Investments managed to mobilize nearly EUR 100 billion. However, the idea of EC President Jean-Claude Juncker to add to the EU funds another financial instrument, in order to stimulate the national economies, is still little popular and hard to understand in Bulgaria and most of all – much more exacting towards the applicants. This is so, because the recipients of the private money allotted by the European Fund for Strategic Investments under the Juncker Plan have the obligation to return that sum, whereas in most cases the money allotted under regular EU funds are gratuitous, which means that the companies are not obliged to make profit. That is why that problem ruined the plans of the Bulgarian authorities to receive money under the Juncker Plan and invest this money in energy efficiency of the Bulgarian homes. However, according to EU Commissioner for Budget and Human Resources Kristalina Georgieva, the future is in projects such as the Juncker Plan.

Bulgarian officials and EU experts contend that Bulgaria has its chances under that investment plan. Currently the focus is on six main projects, which can receive financing from the European Investment Fund. Later these projects can generate profits and pay off their loans taken under the investment plan. These are the gas interconnection between Bulgaria and Greece, the port terminal in Bulgaria’s coastal capital Varna, a logistic center situated on the Silk Road connecting Europe and Asia, two electric transmission networks and an international gas project. According to preliminary estimates those projects would cost some EUR 2.6 billion.

Bulgaria’s inability to join more actively the Juncker Investment plan with its own projects is due to some controversial aspects of the plan itself. On one hand, the Juncker Plan aims at financing mainly small and medium-sized companies. Meanwhile, past experience shows that large-scale infrastructural projects are usually chosen to receive financing, which is not in the capabilities of the small companies. It turned out that it will take some more time for the EU member states to develop their administrative and business capacity, in order to meet the requirements of the new financial instrument.

English version: Kostadin Atanasov