The Sofia Echo: UNDP report suggests urgent reforms in Bulgaria - by Petar Kostadinov

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UNDP report suggests urgent reforms in Bulgaria - by Petar Kostadinov

A report by the United Nations Development Programme suggests five urgent measures that need to be taken in the months remaining before Bulgaria’s provisionally scheduled accession to the European Union. The UNDP report, an assessment of mutual and district capacities for participation in EU structural and cohesion funds absorption, was released in July. The report was based on interviews with Bulgarian municipalities and district administrations in April and May 2006.

The UNDP suggests that the final design of operational programmes should take into account beneficiaries’ capacities. A simple mechanism, easily accessible for municipalities should be established to ensure co-financing. This should be based on past experience, familiar principles and effective schemes, the report says. There should be quick action to prepare projects, inclusive of feasibility studies. The report concludes that no municipality or district administration is fully prepared. At the same time, there is no municipality or district administration absolutely unprepared. Parallel to this, there is no clear standard or description of what it means for an administration to be prepared for the structural funds or an official to be trained.