There is no need to change the territorial plans for a just transition at the moment, reports the MRDPW

At the moment, no need to change the territorial plans for a just transition has been identified, the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works (MRDPW) stated in response to an inquiry from BTA.

In December 2023, the European Commission approved version 2.2 of the Regional Development Program 2021-2027 (RDP 2021-2027) with included priorities co-financed by the Just Transition Fund (JTF), as well as the Territorial Just Transition Plans of the three coal the regions of Pernik, Kyustendil and Stara Zagora with adjacent 10 municipalities connected to the Mariska basin in terms of employment and labor force mobility - Nova Zagora, Yambol, Simeonovgrad, Harmanli, Topolovgrad, Dimitrovgrad, Haskovo, Elhovo, Sliven and Tundzha.

At the moment, no need to change the territorial plans has been identified, and accordingly no changes have been initiated, but intensive work is being done on the preparation and announcement of procedures for the implementation of the planned investments, according to the MRDPW.

When a need is identified, the territorial plans can theoretically be changed, and the procedure for this provides for approval by the Monitoring Committee of the "Development of the Regions" Program 2021-2027, by the Coordination Council for the Management of European Union Funds (SCUSES) and by Council of Ministers. At the next stage, a request for approval will be submitted by the European Commission, the ministry informed.

On June 18, 2024, the first procedure with a resource under the FSP was announced - "Support for sustainable energy renovation of multi-family residential buildings, incl. tackling energy poverty" with a budget of BGN 196.4 million and a deadline for applications with project proposals of September 19, 2024.

By the end of 2024, within the third and fourth quarter, it is planned to announce the following procedures under the FSP: "Support for those working in the affected sectors through training for qualification and retraining" with a budget of BGN 110 million and an estimated date for announcement - until September 30, 2024, "Mapping the skills of indirectly affected persons in the areas most affected by the climate transition" with a budget of BGN 1 million and estimated date for announcement - until December 31, 2024, "Diversification and adaptation of SMEs to the economic transition" with a budget of BGN 250 million and an estimated date of announcement - until December 31, 2024, "Support for industrial and logistics parks and zones" with a budget of BGN 140 million and an estimated date of announcement - until December 31, 2024, "Support for production investments in large enterprises in the Stara Zagora region" with a budget of BGN 250 million and an estimated announcement date - until December 31, 2024.