The caretaker government fulfilled all its commitments according to the Election Code regarding the organizational and technical preparation of the parliamentary elections on October 27, 2024, professionally, transparently and in excellent dialogue with the Central Election Commission. Over 100 million leva were provided, necessary for the organization and conduct of the vote.
The cabinet made every effort to significantly upgrade and improve the organization of the vote, with the goal of achieving maximum security and publicity. The elections held on October 27 are the most inspected so far – an unprecedentedly large number of machines passed a sample inspection - 3306. For comparison, 664 machines were inspected in the previous elections. The government provided twice as many specialists from the state administration to carry out the inspections – over 50. For the first time, at the insistence of the executive branch, the CEC allowed media representatives into the warehouse where the machines were stored during the inspections. The Cabinet also ensured full transparency in the certification of the machines, allowing the work of the teams to be monitored in real time. Restoring citizens' trust in the machines was a key priority for the caretaker government. It is significant that in these elections, the number of voters who chose to cast their votes by machine increased by nearly 220,000 compared to the previous ones. The elections abroad were also successfully held.
Video surveillance and video recording during the counting of ballots by the section election commissions once again proved to be an additional tool that guarantees the transparency and fairness of the elections. The government upgraded video surveillance and video recording and achieved over 99.5% coverage of the polling stations, so that what was happening in them could be seen by everyone.
The Ministry of Interior ensured the preservation of public order and the security of the vote, as well as the prevention and counteraction of crimes. The National Interdepartmental Unit between the Prosecutor's Office, the Ministry of Interior and the State Agency for National Security was established, which, according to the Election Code, carries out the coordination and interaction between the institutions for legality in the conduct of the elections. The Ministry of Interior also opened a 24-hour telephone line for signals related to violations of the electoral process. Every signal was returned.
A month before the vote, a national specialized operation began on the territory of the country, which lasted until the end of election day. The visible results of the Ministry of Interior's activity are: 127 pre-trial proceedings were initiated, 115 of which are under Art. 167-169 of the Criminal Code. A total of 73 people were detained within the framework of the 227 special operations conducted. 1,904 warning protocols under Art. 65 of the Law on the Interior were drawn up. Ministry employees took action on nearly 1,000 reports of violations of electoral legislation and the political rights of citizens received within a month during the election campaign, with 244 on election day alone. Of all the reports received, 716 were related to vote buying in favor of political parties and coalitions.
INTERNAL AFFAIRS
Bulgaria became a full member of Schengen. The cabinet is working purposefully to finalize the process on which a number of governments have been working. An operational headquarters was established for border reorganization and readiness to work in the Schengen area from January 1, 2025. As part of the efforts to create an even better security environment, actions were taken to control migrant pressure. As a result, the pressure on the border decreased by 70%.
In October, Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev initiated an inspection of the barrier along the Bulgarian-Turkish border, which made it clear that compromised sections of the fence are not allowed. Repair teams inspect the barrier daily and, where necessary, react immediately, including reinforcing specific sections. Since the beginning of the year, border police have prevented over 44,000 attempts by migrants to enter the country illegally.
Active work is being done to counter the production and distribution of narcotics. To date, more than 4,000 specialized police operations have been conducted and significant quantities of drugs have been seized, drug laboratories and drug greenhouses have been discovered.
In terms of road safety, the effectiveness of administrative and penal activities has been increased through faster response and reaching offenders.
FOREIGN POLICY
Thanks to the timely response of the government, Bulgaria was one of the first countries to successfully evacuate all Bulgarian citizens and their families wishing to leave Lebanon. With the assistance of all competent Bulgarian institutions and international partners, on September 30 and October 1, two special flights of the government plane were carried out on the Sofia - Beirut - Sofia route, with a total of 169 people being evacuated. In the following days - until October 7, with the assistance of the Canadian Embassy in Beirut, another 19 people were helped to successfully return to Bulgaria. During the operation, the priority was the safety of Bulgarian citizens and the teams ensuring the evacuation. At a special ceremony at the Council of Ministers, Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev personally awarded and thanked the 18 people - pilots, flight organizers, technical specialists and flight attendants.
Consistent efforts to provide multidimensional support to Ukraine continued - humanitarian, political, diplomatic, military, socio-economic, including efforts to prepare the country's recovery with an emphasis on cooperation in key areas.
Targeted efforts to find a solution to the case of two Bulgarians detained in Yemen, members of the crew of the ship “Galaxy Leader“ hijacked by “Ansar Allah“ in the Red Sea, also continued.
HEALTH PROTECTION
The activities to implement the National Children's Hospital project continued to be implemented in a shortened timeframe, creating the prerequisites for overcoming a 40-year stalemate in 4 years. The site is ready for construction ahead of schedule, as the caretaker government has committed. The plan for the structure and capacity of the medical facility has also been adopted - it is planned that the hospital will have 440 beds, distributed in 26 clinics and departments, including child psychiatry, a genetic laboratory, nuclear medicine and physiotherapy and rehabilitation. The goal is to ensure comprehensive care for children and excellent working and development conditions for medical specialists. Construction should start in a few months, so that in 2028 Bulgaria will have a functioning National Children's Hospital.
Another significant measure in the health sector is the reform of the TELC and the increase in funds for early decisions. For this purpose, changes were adopted in Regulation No. 3 and an additional 710,000 leva were provided for the budget of the Ministry of Health for 2024. So, starting in October, instead of the previous 60 leva, the commissions will receive 100 leva. for each expert decision issued ahead of schedule that entered into force.
An organization has been created to conduct a national screening campaign for cervical cancer. As part of the campaign, in the last three months of 2024, 90,000 gynecological examinations were provided to women aged 20 to 49. Screenings for breast cancer, prostate cancer, colon cancer, type 2 diabetes, chronic lung disease and cardiovascular disease are also being conducted in individual settlements.
The HEMS system for providing emergency medical assistance by air was launched. Over 40 successful missions have been carried out so far.
REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT
The major repair of the Danube Bridge near Ruse has begun after 70 years of operation. Construction of about 52 km of the "Hemus" motorway has resumed. Work is actively underway on the construction of the new first-class road Vidin-Botevgrad. A construction permit has been issued for the last 6 km of the "Europe" motorway, which is expected to be fully constructed next year. Technical designs are being prepared for the two sections in the direction from Kulata to Sofia and for the bypass of the town of Kresna along the route of lot 3.2. of the "Struma" motorway. The expansion of a 600-meter section of the motorway near Simitli has eased traffic in the area. A contract has been signed for the development of an expanded conceptual design for a high-speed route in the direction Sofia - Montana with a tunnel under the Petrohan pass. After a three-year hiatus, contracts for current repairs and winter maintenance of the republican road network have been secured.
The work on the Investment Program for Municipal Projects continued as a priority. Out of the 2,170 applications submitted, over 1,900 agreements with municipalities have been concluded. Payments made to municipalities total BGN 500 million.
The negotiation process with municipalities for the implementation of energy efficiency in multi-family residential buildings - Stage II under the Energy Efficiency Program has begun. A total of 282 multi-family residential buildings in 65 municipal and regional administrations have been approved. Contracts are also being concluded intensively under Stage I of the program, in which nearly BGN 1.129 billion will be invested. Progress on the conclusion of the contracts became possible after the team overcame the long-standing delayed consideration of project proposals under the procedures for energy efficiency of the residential building stock under the National Recovery and Sustainability Plan.
Urgent measures were launched to combat water shortages in the country. Experts analyzed the problems and proposed solutions to improve efficiency and control, provide backup water sources and prioritize strategic dams that need to be built or rehabilitated in order to guarantee the country's water reserves to solve the problem of water supply to the population and irrigation of agricultural crops. A decision was made to unfreeze the project for the construction of the "Cherni Osam" dam for Pleven and Lovech. The construction of the "Luda Yana" dam and the drinking water treatment plant to it was completed and pumping began. 15 million leva have also been provided for the repair of the Omurtag water supply network. The problem of the shortage of drinking water for Kocherinovo was urgently resolved.
The implementation of the new information system of the Agency for Geodesy, Cartography and Cadastre was successfully completed. The new system will improve both the speed and accessibility of administrative services, it is planned that the distribution of applications will be random in all territorial units of the Agency.
The reconstructed border checkpoint "Kalotina" was opened - the first major renovation of the checkpoint in 30 years. Statistics show an increase in freight traffic of almost 30% at this checkpoint over the past five years. The checkpoints in the country are designed to handle traffic of 2.5 million vehicles per year, and in 2023 alone, 4.5 million passed through, with a tendency to increase to 10 million by 2029. Therefore, the government is taking measures to ease traffic at all border checkpoints. Three months ago, the cabinet began intensive actions to expand the checkpoints at Malko Tarnovo and Kapitan Andreevo, with the goal of reconstructing all of them.
AGRICULTURE
Nearly 1.6 billion leva were disbursed to support farmers. Of these, 325 million leva were paid under the second tranche of state aid “Assistance in support of the liquidity of farmers to overcome the negative economic impact of the Russian aggression against Ukraine“ and “Assistance in support of the liquidity of farmers, producers of grain and oilseed crops, to overcome the negative economic impact of the Russian aggression against Ukraine“.
The first receptions for interventions financed through the EAFRD from the Strategic Plan have started. Currently, six procedures for project proposals for new, small and young farmers, innovations, producer groups and organizations and rural development are open for applications. The funding is worth a total of over 1 billion and 278 million BGN, with over 1 billion BGN to be directed towards the development of municipalities in rural areas.
At the beginning of 2025, the admission under the Community-Led Local Development (CLLD) approach will start for the new period 2023 - 2027. In December, the Council of Ministers approved the rules for its implementation by decree. The funding through the EAFRD plus complementary funding from other operational programs is worth 740 million BGN. The goal is to improve local economies, the social and environmental environment in small settlements.
Nearly 8.3 million BGN have been paid. for damage to agricultural crops caused by adverse weather conditions that can be equated to natural disasters. Separately, over 1.330 million BGN have been paid under applications for de minimis aid to compensate for damage from fires in 2024.
A Plan for the restoration of forest areas burned in 2024 has been prepared. State-owned enterprises will restore burned areas near settlements and eroded terrain as a priority.
A comprehensive analysis of the activity has been carried out and a strategy has been prepared for the modernization of irrigation systems in the period 2024-2028 with the aim of increasing the areas with an irrigation system by over 2.5 million decares, and in the long term to reach 8 million decares. Currently, 10 sites have been modernized and rehabilitated, which ensures 50% water savings and an increase in irrigated areas by over 38,000 decares. The design of 41 hydro-reclamation facilities for irrigation of agricultural crops has also been assigned.
Work is underway on a project to build a new testing ground and 25 missile sites to combat hail, in order to consolidate the existing hail protection and introduce an entirely new hail zone in Northern Bulgaria. A pilot implementation of ground-based generators with silver iodide is underway in two areas of the country where the use of missiles and aircraft is not allowed.
ENERGY
Since the beginning of October, commercial operation of the LNG terminal in Alexandroupolis, Greece, in which the Bulgarian side, through “Bulgartransgaz“ has a 20% share, has begun. The terminal provides access to reliable sources such as the USA, Qatar, Egypt, etc., guaranteeing competitive supplies for Bulgarian consumers. This is the first real step in the overall concept for creating a Vertical Gas Corridor, supported by the EU and the USA. “Bulgartransgaz“ EAD is already implementing projects to increase transmission capacity between Greece and Bulgaria and Bulgaria and Romania as part of the corridor initiative. Diversification of supplies through the Alexandroupolis terminal is strategic for both Bulgaria and Southeastern Europe, Moldova and Ukraine.
The process of implementing projects for local production from the deep Black Sea has been accelerated. By its decision, the Council of Ministers issued a permit to “Shell Exploration and Production (96) B.V.“ to search and explore for oil and natural gas in the “Khan Tervel“ block.
For the first time in its fifty-year history in May, the “Kozloduy“ NPP operated with alternative fuel. The first 43 cartridges with an alternative type of fuel, produced by the American “Westinghouse“, were loaded into the 5th block of the nuclear power plant. Westinghouse Electric Company and the “Kozloduy“ NPP also signed a contract for safety analyses for licensing alternative nuclear fuel for the 6th block of the plant.
A key stage of the work on the implementation of the project for the construction of a new nuclear power plant in Bulgaria was completed. At an official ceremony at the Council of Ministers in early November, the engineering contract for the construction of new nuclear capacities at the Kozloduy NPP was signed. The activities for the design and construction of the 7th and 8th units of the plant are being carried out in cooperation with our American and South Korean partners. The signing of the contract for the engineering, supply, construction and commissioning of two new reactors at our nuclear power plant between Kozloduy NPP - New capacities EAD, on the one hand, and the consortium between Westinghouse Electric Company and Hyundai Engineering and Construction, on the other, is a de facto start of the implementation of the project for the new nuclear capacities of Bulgaria within the set deadline and budget.
The repair of the second hydro unit of the largest battery in the region - the Chaira NPP has been completed. Its work is of key importance for better balancing the system, as well as for the successful integration of the growing RES production in the region. The activities, which lasted 12 months in intensive mode, guarantee the security and efficiency of the facility, which is already actively participating in the country's electricity system. The negotiations that NEK EAD is conducting with the original equipment manufacturer - Toshiba regarding a medium-term solution for the repair of hydro unit 1 are in an advanced phase.
Financing was secured for the miners of the “Maritsa East“ complex under the policies for a smooth and fair transformation to low-carbon energy. In accordance with the loan agreement concluded in August between “Bulgarian Energy Holding“ EAD and “Mines Maritsa East“ EAD, the holding transferred BGN 16 million to the mining company on October 17. The funds are for the payment of wages to mine workers for September. In November, a new transfer of 28 million leva is expected, which will pay salaries for October. BEH has already provided targeted financing to “Mini Maritsa-Iztok“ EAD for a total of 56 million leva for employee salaries in July and August, social security, payments to the budget and others. The use of all these funds is possible thanks to the signed framework agreement for financing in the amount of up to 100 million leva from BEH EAD and 50 million leva from a commercial bank, where the holding is a co-debtor. Separately, in October, BEH EAD and “Mini Maritsa-Iztok“ signed a new framework agreement for financing in the amount of 100 million leva until June 30, 2025. It will provide funds for wages of workers in the mines and for the company's obligations to the budget in the coming months.
TRANSPORT
Contracts have been signed for the supply of a total of 25 new electric multiple units. Twenty of them are financed with funds under the Recovery and Sustainability Plan, and another five - from the “Transport Connectivity“ 2021-2027 Program. The contracting authority for both contracts is the Ministry of Transport and Communications, and the contractor is the “Skoda Transportation and Škoda Vagonka“ consortium. The value of the rolling stock is 640 million leva, and the delivery period is 2 years. The trains are planned to serve passengers on the longest railway routes in the country - Sofia-Burgas, Sofia-Varna and Sofia-Ruse, as well as on shorter distances such as Sofia-Dragoman.
In implementation of the Restructuring Plan of „Bulgarian Posts“ EAD, approved by the European Commission, the protocol for increasing the company's capital by BGN 50 million has been signed. In this way, „Bulgarian Posts“ EAD is no longer an enterprise in difficulty and has the opportunity to receive from the state budget the actually proven costs for the implementation of the assigned services of general economic interest. A notification has been sent to the EC for state aid for the implementation of the universal postal service.
ENVIRONMENT
The requirements for Bulgaria's accession in part „Environment“ to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
The public discussion of the River Basin Management Plans (RBMPs 2022 - 2027) for the four basin management regions and the consultations on the Marine Strategy of the Republic of Bulgaria have ended. After the Supreme Expert Ecological Council reviewed the Environmental Assessment Reports with attached reports on the assessment of the degree of impact on the plans and strategy, interdepartmental coordination is underway for their adoption by the Council of Ministers.
An order was issued to declare a protected area for the protection of natural habitats and wild flora and fauna “Maritsa River“. In order to prevent damage to natural habitat types and habitats of animal and plant species, orders were issued to change the regimes of two protected areas – “Kaliakra Complex“ for the protection of natural habitats and wild flora and fauna and “Kaliakra“ for the protection of wild birds. Orders have also been issued to declare seven protected areas - protected area “Arvaliyka“, natural landmark “Skalen most Uglen“, protected area “Krayrechnata gora“, protected area “Zlatishka beech forest“, protected area “Bassarbovski steppes“, protected area “Cherveni kamak“ protected area “Polovrak“. An order has also been issued to increase the area of protected area “Narrow-leaved peony“. Orders for their declaration have been prepared for another five draft protected areas and are about to be issued.
Bulgaria welcomed 112 national delegations in Sofia for the 61st session of the Intergovernmental Forum on Climate Change, organized by the Ministry of Environment, Water and Water. At the UN Climate Conference COP29 in Baku, we confirmed our country's strong position in climate policy.
ECONOMY
Steps were taken to develop and modernize the State Dairy Processing Enterprise “LB Bulgaricum“ EAD. In addition, the company began the construction of a scientific research laboratory of the highest technological level together with the Japanese company “Meiji“. The new scientific center will provide work for Bulgarian and Japanese scientists with the most modern high-tech facilities and the most modern methods for discovering new health benefits from the use of Bulgarian yogurt, as a product of our national wealth. The ten-year strategic partnership agreement between the state-owned enterprise and the Japanese company builds on the previous 50-year cooperation with the creation of the first joint Bulgarian-Japanese research laboratory in the field of lactic acid bacteria.
During the reporting period, the companies from the group of “National Company Industrial Zones“ EAD under the Ministry of Economy and Industry attracted investments worth a total of over 450 million leva, which will create nearly 1,300 new jobs.
In addition, “National Company Industrial Zones“ EAD launched projects for the modernization and development of state industrial zones under projects worth a total of nearly 9 million
The Ministry of Economy and Industry has developed a draft Act amending and supplementing the Consumer Protection Act, which provides better protection of the collective interests of consumers. The draft law also contains criteria for the recognition of qualified organizations by the Minister of Economy and Industry, which will have the right to bring these claims, and which must meet specific requirements that guarantee their independence and commitment to the protection of consumer interests.
INNOVATION AND GROWTH
Support in the amount of over 40 million BGN has been provided for incentive measures from the budget of the Ministry of Innovation and Growth. These funds are used to support companies whose investments amount to nearly 350 million BGN and provide for over 850 new jobs.
In terms of promoting innovation, the Ministry of Economy and Industry continues to support Bulgarian companies with grants. 531 companies receive 218 million leva free of charge for implementing innovations under the program “Competitiveness and Innovation in Enterprises“.
After hearing Minister Karadimov at the 94th session of the OECD Digital Policy Committee, a positive decision was made and Bulgaria closed this chapter of the negotiation process.
EDUCATION
Contracts have been concluded with 2,168 schools and personal development support centers for the construction of STEM classrooms. Bulgaria is the only country that has contracted funds for the creation of an educational STEM environment in 100% of the institutions in our education system under the Recovery and Resilience Plan. The construction of a National STEM Center is also about to start.
The international Olympiads and competitions for this year have ended. For the first time, the Ministry of Education and Science has fully taken over the preparation of the teams. Almost 1 million were allocated for this purpose. BGN for organizing and holding the international, European and Balkan Olympiads, and Bulgarian Olympians won over 90 medals.
The government provided a total of BGN 373,545 to support students with outstanding talents from 8th to 12th grade. A total of 366 students from state, municipal and private educational institutions will receive scholarships to encourage and develop their creative, scientific and sports talents.
During the year, additional funds were provided three times to increase staff salaries and to increase scholarships for doctoral students in a total amount of BGN 234 million, which brought the resources provided to state higher education institutions to over BGN 1.041 billion. Along with this, BGN 200 million were also provided. for the renovation of student dormitories.
SOCIAL POLICY
The minimum wage will increase to 1077 BGN from January 1, 2025. Its amount will increase by 15.4% or by 144 BGN compared to its current value. The higher minimum wage will contribute to reducing poverty among workers, increase the purchasing power of the lowest-income groups in the labor market and increase the motivation of the workforce to enter employment.
The poverty line will be 638 BGN from January 1, 2025. Its amount will increase by 112 BGN or by 21.3% compared to 2024. Raising the poverty line will improve social protection for vulnerable groups, as a larger number of people and families will receive support from the state in a larger amount. As a result of the increase in 2025, monthly financial support for over 700,000 people with permanent disabilities will increase by 21%. The amount of benefits under the Social Assistance Act and the Child Protection Act will also increase.
Nearly 340,000 households have so far been granted heating benefits of 554 leva for the upcoming winter season. Their number is about 15,000 more compared to last winter. 330,000 pensioners received 100 leva Christmas supplements.
FINANCE
The Ministry of Finance has secured the financing of all expenses for the normal functioning of the state.
The Government adopted a protocol decision on the organization of the final stage of the preparation of the draft laws for the state budget of the Republic of Bulgaria for 2025, for the budget of the National Health Insurance Fund for 2025 and for the budget of the state social security for 2025. According to the Decision, the caretaker cabinet submitted the three draft laws to parliament after the constitution of the 51st National Assembly.
The institutions continued the intensive preparation for the introduction of the euro as the national currency in Bulgaria. According to this year's Convergence Reports, Bulgaria meets three of the four numerical criteria for membership in the eurozone, failing only the criterion for price stability. The fulfillment of the inflation criterion will also be a prerequisite for Bulgaria to request the preparation of extraordinary Convergence Reports from the European Commission and the European Central Bank.
On September 17, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Lyudmila Petkova and Minister of Energy Vladislav Malinov informed the members of the 50th National Assembly of the progress in negotiations with the European Commission on the envisaged amendments to the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) and the draft REPowerEU chapter, as well as the relevant amendments. The government continued the active dialogue with the EC on the implementation of the measures and objectives under the NRP in order to receive the funds for the second payment.
JUSTICE
Work has begun on the necessary amendments and supplements to the Judiciary Act (JSA). At the first meeting of the working group on October 3, Minister Maria Pavlova emphasized that the Ministry of Justice wants to focus on the ideas of the judiciary and awaits the proposals of the acting magistrates. The Ministry of Justice summarized all the opinions received.
The Bill on Insolvency of Individuals (Bill on Personal Bankruptcy) was adopted, as well as the amendments to the Act on the Protection of Persons Filing Signals or Publicly Disclosing Information on Violations, expanding the circle of persons protected when filing signals on violations, such as those practicing the legal profession, for whom there is an obligation to protect professional secrecy, will be protected when filing signals on violations of legislation or EU acts that threaten or harm the public interest. Both laws have been coordinated with the EC, with a view to the accurate implementation of our commitments under the NPL.
Additions to the Act on the Liability of the State and Municipalities for Damages (ZODOV) have been published for public consultations.
DEFENCE
The number of candidates for military service has increased, and the consistent policy of increasing the defense budget to 2.5% continues. As of November 1, the allowances have been increased from 200 leva to 300 leva. As of January, wages are expected to increase by 30 percent, and for some categories of the military personnel even more.
Real steps have been taken to replace the air defense system and steps to prepare the TEREM companies for the assembly of the “Stryker“ combat vehicles;
A successful test flight of the first Bulgarian F-16 Block 70 fighter was carried out. The construction of the infrastructure for receiving the fighters is being accelerated. A virtual reality system was also received, allowing for a real-scale study of the F-16 Block 70.
TOURISM
After signing the historic memorandum with Japan in September in Tokyo, which laid the foundation for more active tourism ties between the two countries, the initiative for a common integrated tourism product Brand Balkans was launched. At official meetings at the level of tourism ministers with Romania, Montenegro and Albania, Bulgaria presented its initiative to create a Destination “Balkans“, which would attract tourists from Japan, China, North and South America through an integrated tourism product. The goal is to open direct air routes between the Balkan capitals, allowing tourists from overseas markets to visit two or more Balkan countries in one trip.
According to NSI data, from January to the end of September 2024, a record number of 10.7 million foreign visitors entered the country. This is 200 thousand more tourists than the number of foreigners visiting the country for the best year so far in 2019.
The creation of the Tourism Guarantee Fund is entirely in the interest of end consumers. The work of the working group on finalizing the bill for the creation of the Guarantee Fund was continued, after public consultations, to receive the approval of the entire sector and stakeholders.
CULTURE
Three new programs have been created: Program “Technological renewal, technological equipment and promotion of reading, media and information literacy in public libraries“ worth 2,800,000 leva to support the activities of public libraries; Program “Intangible cultural heritage“ worth 3,500,000 leva to support the activities of professional folklore ensembles, bearers of valuable intangible cultural heritage; Program “Chitalishta“ in the amount of 2,500,000 leva to support the activities of the national chitalishta.
This year, our country prepared national nominations for inclusion in the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity the following dossiers: “Bagpipes and Bagpipe Playing in Bulgaria - Transmission of Knowledge and Skills“, which will be considered in 2025.
The Minister of Culture Naiden Todorov presented at an official ceremony at the National Gallery “Square 500“ the two violins - property of the Bulgarian state, to Svetlin Rusev and Liya Petrova. The violins “Stradivarius“ - 1716 and “Guarneri del Gesù” - 1733, our virtuoso violinists will play in the next 5 years.
SPORTS
The Ministry of Youth and Sports has equalized the one-time cash prizes of athletes - medalists and prize-winners of world and European championships for men and women in sports included in the program of the Paralympic Games, with the prizes of medalists and prize-winners in Olympic sports from world and European championships for men and women.
Conditions have been provided for the implementation and provision of the activities of sports federations, sports clubs and the training process of prominent athletes with contracts concluded under the MMS Programs until the end of 2024.
Two programs were launched for the construction and renovation of sports facilities - – “Program for Financial Support for the Construction and Renovation of Sports Facilities - state and municipal property“ and “National Program for Shared Financing of Investment Sports Projects“. The Program for Financial Support for the Construction and Renovation of Sports Facilities - state and municipal property has a total financial resource of 5 million leva and is intended for full financial support of project proposals approved under the same. The total financial resource under the National Program for Shared Financing of Investment Sports Projects is 10 million. leva and is intended for shared financing of investment sports projects, with the condition that the applicants under the same provide self-participation in the amount of 10% to 50% of the total value of