MPs unanimously approved Bulgarian budget update on second reading making their decision final. The budget revision includes loan guarantees that will be at disposal of the Bulgarian government for the ongoing year.
Two newly announced European financial tools for curbing the negative economic impact of COVID-19 led to the budget update. They are aimed at supporting local businesses and maintaining low unemployment rates in the bloc.
EU’s financial aid program “SURE” provides access to a mutual pool of 100 billion euros in the form of loans. State members would have to provide loan guarantees of 107,5 million euros in order to participate.
The second measure is the Pan-European Guarantee Fund (PEGF) amounting to 25 billion euros. It is designed to provide guarantees for borrowing funds from the European Investment Bank and the European Investment Fund. PEGF will support European SMEs and will be funded by the state members with up to 200 billion euros. Bulgaria’s contribution to the fund will be 51 million euros or about 0,21% of the total amount.
