16.07.2024

The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Ms. Lyudmila Petkova represented Bulgaria at the regular July meeting of the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) which took place in Brussels. At the beginning of the meeting, the Hungarian Presidency of the Council of the EU presented its priorities and work programme in the field of economic and financial affairs for the following 6 months. The majority of member states, including Bulgaria, stated that support for Ukraine should remain a priority on the ECOFIN agenda.

The ministers reviewed the implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Facility and adopted decisions on amendments to the recovery and resilience plans of five member states. Minister Petkova informed the Council that Bulgaria was to finalise its proposal for the REPowerEU chapter of its national recovery and resilience plan. A detailed timetable has been prepared for this purpose in agreement with the Commission. The aim is for Bulgaria to finalise the draft REPowerEU chapter by mid-September and submit it to the Commission in order to obtain approval by the end of the year.

The European Commission provided an update on the economic and financial impact of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. The ECOFIN Council supported the continuation of the work, in parallel with the EU and G7 level, to extend a loan to Ukraine to be repaid from the extraordinary revenues from the Russian immobilised assets. The ministers agreed that the best approach was to ensure G7 participation alongside the EU and insisted on a rapid agreement on the structure and technical details of the proposal. Minister Petkova supported the Commission’s proposal to use the macro-financial assistance instrument to extend an EU loan to Ukraine and to use the EU budget as a guarantee. Bulgaria believes that the funds should be used to cover military and budgetary needs, as well as for investments in strategic sectors of the country’s economy which will contribute to its rapid recovery and development.

In the context of the European Semester, the Council endorsed the country-specific recommendations as well as the conclusions on the 2024 in-depth reviews under the Macroeconomic Imbalances Procedure.

The ministers exchanged views on the convergence reports of the Commission and the ECB which assess the readiness of non-euro area member states to adopt the single currency. Bulgaria welcomed the conclusion. Minister Petkova assured the Council that the commitment to join the euro area as soon as possible remained a priority and that the technical preparations continued at a good pace. When Bulgaria met the last criterion, it would avail of the opportunity to request extraordinary convergence reports. The Deputy Prime Minister stressed that it was important for the country to receive a prompt assessment of its readiness from the European institutions and a Council decision with a specific date for accession. This will ensure predictability for the businesses and society and sufficient time to finalise the process.