Bulgaria utilised nearly 43.9 million euro from European educational programmes since 2000, Lyudmil Kovachev, director of the Human Resources Development Centre, said.

Some 2500 projects under educational programmes were carried out, Kovatchev said as quoted by Focus news agency.

The European Commission (EU) approved a budget of 18 million euro for educational projects in Bulgaria in 2008. The sum was eight per cent higher than in 2007.

The Human Resources Development Centre would award 19 people for contribution to the European educational programmes.

Current Education Minister Daniel Vulchev and his predecessors Vesselin Metodiev and Vladimir Atanasov were among the contributors to be awarded.