The European Investment Bank (EIB) and the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) assist EU governments in absorbing European funds. The support is in the form of long-term structural programme loans (SPLs), the funds from which are transferred to the central budget and are intended to cover the national contribution to projects implemented under the programmes financed by European funds.
The two financial institutions are active partners of Bulgaria in the absorption of European funds. With the financial support provided by the EIB during the 2007-2013 and 2014-2020 programming periods, a total budget of €947 million was secured to cover the national co-financing of 11,377 projects implemented under the Operational Programmes Transport and Transport Infrastructure, Environment, Regions in Growth and Competitiveness. Among the major projects financed by EIB structural program loans during the previous two periods are "Sofia Metro Extension"; ‘Completion of Trakia Motorway – Lots 2, 3 and 4’; ‘Construction of Maritsa Motorway, Lots 1 and 2’; ‘Struma Motorway Lots 1, 2 and 4’; Struma Motorway – Lot 3.1, Lot 3.3 and Zheleznitsa Tunnel; ‘Establishment of an integrated system of municipal waste treatment facilities of Sofia Municipality’; Modernisation of the Sofia-Plovdiv railway line: Elin Pelin – Kostenets railway section’; ‘Rehabilitation of the Plovdiv-Burgas railway line, Phase 2’; ‘Completion of the Sofia Metro Extension: Line 3, Stages 1 and 2’, etc.
The SPL provided by the CEB during the 2014-2020 programming period secured budgetary resources amounting to EUR 200 million to cover the national co-financing of 2,627 projects in the social sphere implemented under the Human Resources Development Operational Programmes; Science and Education for Smart Growth and Regions in Growth. The Projects financed with funds from the CEB SPL are in areas related to activation, training and integration in youth employment, including the creation of new jobs, support for entrepreneurship, professional integration of young people from residential and community-based services, improvement of the quality and effectiveness of vocational training services, renovation and modernization of regional educational infrastructure, support for the development of the emergency medical system, provision of air vehicles for emergency medical response, combating Covid 19, support for deinstitutionalization of care for children and the elderly, support for investments through financial instruments in regional tourism projects, modernization of higher education institutions, support for pre-school education and preparation of disadvantaged children, educational integration of students from ethnic minorities and others.
EIB financial support in the 2021-2027 programming period
Building on the successful cooperation between the EIB and Bulgaria in the implementation of the EU Funds, in 2024 the Bank approved a credit line of up to EUR 1 billion to support the national co-financing of projects implemented with EU Funds under shared management in the 2021-2027 programming period.
In order to secure the necessary budgetary resources to cover the national co-financing of projects implemented under the 2021-2027 programming period, a first Finance Contract between the Republic of Bulgaria and the European Investment Bank was concluded in 2024 under this credit line to finance the project “Bulgaria – EU co-financing 2021-2027 (SPL)”, for a SPL of EUR 250 million, signed for the EIB on 9 December 2024 in Luxembourg and for the Republic of Bulgaria on 12 December 2024 in Sofia. The Finance Contract was ratified by the National Assembly by a law adopted on 16 January 2025 (published in the State Gazette, issue 7 of January 24, 2025) and entered into force on January 29, 2025.
In December 2025, a second Finance Contract was concluded between the Republic of Bulgaria and the European Investment Bank to finance the project “Bulgaria – EU co-financing 2021-2027 (SPL) B”, signed for the Republic of Bulgaria on 11 September 2025 in Sofia and for the European Investment Bank on 17 September 2025 in Luxembourg for the LVS of EUR 250 million. The Finance Contract was ratified by the National Assembly by a law adopted on 28 November 2025 (published in the State Gazette, issue 106 of 9 December 2025) and entered into force on 11 December 2025.
The funds from the two SPLs are intended to cover national contribution to projects implemented with EU Funds under shared management in the 2021-2027 programming period under the Programs Transport Connectivity, Environment, Regional Development, Competitiveness and Innovation in Enterprises and Research, Innovation and Digitalisation for Smart Transformation. Emphasis is placed on green, digital and innovative projects.
The EIB's financial support will contribute to the successful implementation of projects under the eligible programmes and the objectives of the programmes themselves and, accordingly, to the development of railway, road infrastructure, including strategically important road transport corridors, the integration of the national transport network into that of the EU, the improvement of water and waste management systems, the improvement of energy and resource efficiency of buildings and industries, the development of innovative products and services, the deployment of innovations and the digitalisation of Bulgarian business, the development and modernisation of small and medium-sized enterprises and the improvement of their competitive advantages. This in turn will contribute to achieving sustainable and integrated development of the regions in the country and sustainable and balanced economic growth in the medium and long term.
CEB Financial support in the 2021-2027 programming period
In 2024, following the successful cooperation between CEB and Bulgaria in the implementation of the EU Funds, the Bank approved the provision of a new SPL, amounting to EUR 250 million, to support the national co-financing of projects implemented with European Social Fund Plus resources in the 2021-2027 programming period.
In this regard, a Framework Loan Agreement was concluded between the Council of Europe Development Bank and the Republic of Bulgaria, EU-Co-financing Facility for Programmes co-financed with European Social Fund Plus for the 2021-2027 Programming Period, amounting to EUR 250 million (Framework Loan Agreement). The Framework Loan Agreement was signed by correspondence on 2 June 2025 in Paris and on 25 June 2025 in Sofia, ratified by law by the National Assembly of the Republic of Bulgaria on 6 November 2025, published in the State Gazette, issue 99 of 21 November 2025 and entered into force on 25 November 2025.
The CEB loan for the 2021-2027 programming period will provide a budgetary resource to support the absorption the funds from European Social Fund Plus, partially covering the Bulgarian contribution to the financing of the implementation of investment projects financed by funds from the Human Resources Development and Education Programmes. The sectors of action are education and vocational training and urban, rural and regional development.
The financial support of CEB will contribute to the successful implementation of the projects under the eligible Programmes and the objectives of the Programmes themselves related to the eradicating marginalisation and increasing social cohesion and the impact will be measured on the increased number of children and adolescents in school education, number of reskilled persons finding employmentk and reduction in the number of school-drop outs as well as other indicators.