Bulgarian banks to oversee EU funds absorption

Bulgaria has decided to entrust the management of EU funds under the Competitiveness and Development of Rural Areas operational programmes to local banks as of 2011, the country's minister in charge of EU funds absorption, Tomislav Donchev, said. The scheme, which will be initially launched as experiment, will be overseen by a team of experts from the state administration and the Association of Commercial Banks. Under the proposed mechanism, banks will take in projects and assess them, seal the contracts and monitor their implementation, while funds distribution will be observed by the state administration. Banks will be also in charge of the projects' preparation and monitoring, allowing governing bodies to focus on the policies and control of EU funds absorption, said Meglena Plugchieva of the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) and ex-minister of EU funds management. (Dnevnik)