Assessment of Regional Economic Integration in Bulgaria Through EU Funding and Implementation of Financial Instruments Under The Operational Program"Regions in Growth" 2014-2020

The study aims to monitor whether the implementation of investment projects in the 2014-2020 programming period is in line with the approved national strategic framework for economic integration of the regions in Bulgaria. The focus of the report is on financial instruments as an alternative form of financing. A method of deduction was used to describe the financial instruments. In order to investigate the effectiveness of the implementation of investments through them, an analysis of 10 selected municipal projects was made by tracking the progress of the financial resource absorption on a quarterly basis. From the official website of the Institute for Market Economics, data on the level of asymmetry of the different regions in terms of investments made and infrastructure are obtained. As a result of the study, it was found that despite the successful implementation of the Operational Programme "Regions in Growth" 2014-2020, the imbalance in the development of the different regions in Bulgaria remains significant. The lack of sufficient administrative capacity of municipalities and various procedural delays make municipal projects financed by the financial instrument unfeasible within the deadlines set for them. The findings of the study could be useful while new financial instruments in Bulgaria are implementing. The increased risk of non-compliance with municipal projects has be taken into consideration along with targeted action for the economic and social integration of Bulgaria's lagging regions.