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© Tsvetelina Belutova
In the third week after the current anti-epidemic measures took effect on November 27, the government finally decided how to finance companies whose businesses have been closed. Prime Minister Boyko Borissov announced at today’s Council of Ministers meeting that this will happen with 156 million BGN from the Operational Program “Innovation and Competitiveness”. The Ministry of Economy, in collaboration with the National Revenue Agency, will announce a procedure for selecting projects to which companies affected by the temporary anti-epidemic measures may apply. The tourism industry will be supported by 56 million BGN.
Already on December 3, the Minister of Economy, Lachezar Borisov, announced that the program, which would support companies currently closed with 20% of turnover, would be innovative. Then the minister’s announcement was that he would be working in a week. There was a lot of criticism from companies that the measures should have been clarified even before the companies were closed by order of the Ministry of Health. With this, visits to restaurants, gyms, game rooms, large shopping centers, etc., were stopped.
“The ANR is expected to accept the documents for the application, the processing and the dispatch of the aid in a fully electronic way. Extremely short deadlines are set for the submission of project proposals, two weeks and for the submission and payment, one week “said the minister today. . More details about the program will be announced today in an online information session.
The tourism sphere will be supported by BGN 56 million to avoid the consequences of COVID 19, Prime Minister Borissov also announced. The state will provide assistance to tour operators and travel agents in the amount of 4% of the amount of their annual turnover declared without VAT for 2019. The free funds will be used for priority compensation of losses arising from customers who have renounced vouchers, as well as amounts withheld by service providers.
“With 51 million BGN we will help about 1,600 companies in the field of tour operator and travel agency activities free of charge,” said Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism Mariana Nikolova. With another BGN 5 million, two years after the lifting of the state of emergency, the Ministry of Tourism is expected to provide state operators with a state subsidy of EUR 35 for tour operators using licensed airlines to operate charter flights to Bulgaria for tourism purposes. one seat of the maximum passenger capacity of the aircraft for each flight. The subsidy is awarded for each seat occupied by a person using a tourist service in Bulgaria, only for flights with a capacity of not less than 100 seats.
Money for hospitals and municipalities
At today’s meeting, the government allocated nearly BGN 100 million for hospitals, which provide more than 50% of their bed capacity for treating COVID-19 patients, as well as for repair, construction and new equipment activities. in large hospitals.
An additional 65 million BGN is approved from the budget of the Ministry of Health, of which 50 million BGN is for 55 medical institutions accepting COVID-19 patients and ready to provide more than 50% of their bed capacity for patients with the new virus. The remaining 15 million are for the purchase of rapid antigen tests to diagnose the population.
A decree of the Council of Ministers increased the capital of the Pirogov Hospital by almost BGN 15 million. The funds are for construction and installation works and for the purchase of medical and non-medical equipment for the needs of the medical institution. The government also allocated BGN 15 million to the St. Catherine Hospital in Sofia for the purchase of modern medical equipment for the recently built Block B. BGN 3.5 million will also be delivered to Alexandrov Hospital for Construction, Repair and Equipment. MHAT “St. Anna” in Varna receives additional funding of BGN 1 million for the renovation of the facade of the therapeutic block of the medical institution. Funds amounting to 450,000 BGN are also allocated for the Nova Zagora municipal hospital.
“Everything we do, we do for the doctors and for the people. I thank all the doctors who are on duty and as a result the number of cured begins to be greater or as much as the number of infected, which is exclusively due his actions”. Prime Minister Borissov addressed the doctors.
The Council of Ministers also allocated an additional BGN 15 million from municipal budgets. The money is to reimburse the costs incurred for the implementation of anti-epidemic measures and prevention actions during the state of emergency.
