Structural funds

On 16th September, 2008 deputy minister Lyubomir Dazov signed in Paris the Memorandum relating to the participation of Bulgaria in the European PPP Expertise Centre (EPEC). The agreement was also signed by Hervé Novelli, State Secretary to the Minister for the Economy, Industry and Employment, within the framework of the French EU Presidency, Philippe Maystadt, EIB President and Joaquin Almunia, EU Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs and Waldemar Pawlak, Polish Deputy Prime Minister. Signing that memorandum, Bulgaria becomes a cofounder of the EPEC which will be hosted by the European Investment Bank (EIB) and located in Luxembourg.

The EPEC is set up by the European Investment Bank, the European Commission and the other Members. The general aims of EPEC are providing support to, and assisting its Members in the development of the skills and capacity required within the Public Sector to define, manage and/or implement their PPP policies and programmes in accordance with market best practice. Moreover, based on the Members’ experience, the expertise center will provide its Members with guidelines, papers and comments on relevant issues concerning the structuring of effective and efficient PPP projects.

EPEC’s main task is to help the public sector to overcome shortfalls in PPP expertise. Despite considerable knowledge and experience in parts of Europe’s public sector, a series of authoritative reports confirm that failure to share lessons and best-practice is limiting the economic efficiency and growth of the EU PPP market. The newly-established European PPP Expertise Centre will share experience, pool and synthesise information from across the EU on requirements for effective transactions and skill-sets required to handle these. Good practice guidance will then be disseminated among EPEC’s members with the clear aim of enhancing public sector management, reducing PPP costs and increasing deal flow.

The experience of EIB and EPEC staff in negotiating and delivering PPP transactions ensures that the initiative will provide policy and programme support as well as a comparative information service. EPEC’s executive team will consist of experienced EIB personnel and experts from national PPP taskforces. EPEC will not offer advice on individual projects.

EPEC’s first working meeting took place after the official launch ceremony, attended by representatives of PPP units in ministries of some 20 countries. The members set the Expertise Centre’s objectives for its first operational phase which runs until 2010.

Bulgaria will be represented in EPEC by the Ministry of Finance which acts as the main coordinator of the PPP process in Bulgaria. The daily-based activities and tasks envisaged by the membership in EPEC will be carried out by the “Management of the EU Funds Directorate” (MEUFD) within the Ministry of Finance. MEUFD is responsible for the formation of the overall PPP policies and programmes in Bulgaria. The participation in EPEC is considered to be a good way to strengthen the leading position on MEUFD as a main facilitator of the PPP process on both – national and international level.