Bulgaria would probably suffer from the lack of quality projects applying for EU funding after the country's EU entry on January 1 2007, Finance Minister Plamen Oresharski said as quoted by Darik Radio.

It was more important for Bulgaria to gain speed in fund utilisation rather than to obtain a significant amount in the first years of its EU membership, Oresharski said.

One aim was to reach 80 to 90 per cent fund utilisation, he said.

Institutions did their best to meet European Commission (EC) requirements and to assure that fund utilisation would follow a clear procedure.

The main challenge Bulgarian projects faced was the availability of competitive projects which met all application requirements, said Oresharski.

Oresharski also commented on the economic trends Bulgaria expected in 2007. The country was to see a six per cent economic growth rate, he said.

The Cabinet was working on decreasing corporate taxation, Oresharski said.