The European Commission (EC) has again rejected the conformity assessments submitted by Bulgaria under the Technical Assistance, Transport, Competitiveness and Administrative Capacity operational programmes.

European Commission spokesperson Dennis Abbott said that the decision had been made because of continuing serious weaknesses in the unified management and information system about the EU-funded projects, which monitors the payment requests and funding distribution under the programmes.

The EC should come up with a decision on the conformity assessments under the Human Resources Development. Bulgaria has not yet submitted assessments under the Environment and Regional Development programmes as it is still putting the finishing touches, Deputy Regional Development Minister Lilyana Pavlova said recently.

The rejection should not be interpreted as a loss of financing but merely a postponement of the interim payments, Abbott said.

Interim payments account for 80 per cent of the more than six billion euro aid that the EC has lined up for Bulgaria.

The money under the seven operational programme is accessible to Bulgaria and no absorption extensions should be made as the deadline expires in 2015, Abbott said, adding that a further 10 EU members are facing same circumstances, having received rejections on their conformity assessments under the operational programmes. Sixteen of the 27 member states have obtained approval for all assessments.

Abbott said that Bulgarian authorities had made progress in the recent months, pointing out overcoming the setbacks in audit capacity.

However, he said that the EC has to finish its inspection of financial supervision to make sure that European taxpayers’ money was being used correctly and effectively.

Bulgarian Prime Minister Boiko Borissov dubbed the latest news from the EC "horrifying".

Borissov will fly to Brussels on September 9 on his first foreign visit since taking office.

His delegation will include Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Simeon Djankov and Foreign Minister Roumyana Zheleva.

Borissov has requested meetings with EC president Jose Manuel Barroso as well as the Agriculture and Regional Policy commissioners. The meetings have not yet been confirmed by Brussels.

Source: Dnevnik.bg