EC approves € 20 m to Bulgaria for response to coronavirus

The European Commission said on June 25 it has approved the reallocation of € 20 million from the funds not used by Bulgaria for cohesion policy to the sector of healthcare.

The money will be used for new medical equipment, life-saving medicines and personal protective equipment for health facilities across the country, as well as for the purchase of 377 respirators, more than two million masks and 177,000 test kits.

At the beginning of the coronavirus crisis, the European Commission decided that countries could redirect unused cohesion policy funds to healthcare.

In Bulgaria, the European Union has already provided 71 million euros for improving emergency health care. The funds are used to repair more than 230 medical emergency units in the country and for the purchase of 400 new ambulances.