30.06.2014

The European Commission has approved the State aid map in Bulgaria for the period 2014-2020 within the framework of new regional aid guidelines adopted by the Commission in June 2013. The map will be in force from 1 July 2014 until 31 December 2020. The new guidelines determine the conditions under which Member States can grant State aid to enterprises for regional development. Their objective is accelerating growth and closer convergence within the single market.

According to the regional aid map the whole territory of Bulgaria meets the regional aid criteria under Article 107(3)(a) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) which reads "aid to promote the economic development of areas where the standard of living is abnormally low or where there is serious underemployment". The maximum aid intensity for large enterprises, implementing projects in the country, is determined at 50% of the total investment expenditure in five regions of Bulgaria, and at 25% in the South Western Region. The proposed maximum aid intensity is for projects with eligible expenditure below EUR 50 million. These percentages can be increased by 20 pps for investments made by small enterprises, and by 10 pps - by medium sized enterprises.