Bulgarian farmers would soon receive their subsidies under the Sapard pre-accession aid programme of the European Union, Deputy Agriculture Minister Dimitar Peichev has said. The funds have been frozen after numerous irregularities were found in the implementation of the programme, allowing a monitoring committee to review applications and discard those that breached Sapard rules. The committee completed its task on October 7, Dnevnik daily reported.

The European Commission imposed sanctions on Bulgaria in the spring of 2008 due to the lack of effective control by State Fund Agriculture, freezing money under four sections of Sapard programme: farms modernisation, processing industry upgrades, generating alternative sources of income in rural areas and wholesale markets. As a result, about 500 applicants with projects worth a combined 390 million leva did not receive their money.

After the sanction was imposed, the State Fund Agriculture drafted an action plan, which included additional checks and measures to prevent embezzlement of European funds. In mid-August, the EC allowed the Government to pay its share of the subsidies for the projects approved at that point.

At the end of September, the Cabinet decided to grant 150 million leva from the state budget, the relevant decision being published in the State Gazette on October 7. Payments will begin once the co-coordinator of the Sapard programme, Deputy Finance Minister Dimitar Ivanovski, gives his approval, Dnevnik said.

Bulgaria will cover its share of the subsidies using funds from the budget surplus, according to the Cabinet decision.