Bulgaria signed a SAPARD agreement for 82.446 million euro, Darik Radio reported.

The funding was the biggest since the beginning of the programme in Bulgaria, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Nihat Kabil said.

The means would be utilised until December 31 2008. They would be used for the development of rural regions, the modernisation of manufacturing and the strengthening of the agriculture administration.

Bulgaria had contracted 444 million euro under the SAPARD programme.

Economy and Energy Minister Plamen Oresharski said that Bulgaria's experience in utilising SAPARD funds was very important because Bulgaria would use the same scheme to utilise EU's structural and cohesion funds.

European Commission (EC) assured Bulgaria that it could continue the practice of approving projects worth  no more than 10 per cent above the sum negotiated. Currently Bulgaria fails to utilise nearly 14 per cent of the funding. The higher number of projects approved would guarantee higher level of fund utilisation, Oresharski said as quoted by Darik.