The Instrument for Structural Policies for Pre-Accession (ISPA) unblocked the €115 000 000 funds for the Bulgarian States Infrastructure Agency. They will be used for the construction of the Liulin highway and for the technical support of the road projects.

This was announced by the prime minister Sergei Stanishev in a special statement for the media, right after the announcement of the decision of the European commission.

The efforts of the government were appreciated, said Stanishev and expressed his gratitude on behalf of the government for the honorable partnership, co-operation and support of the European commission.

He also expressed his gratitude to all the employees of the responsible sections of the national administration. “We’ve come so far within a few months, taking the right decisions at the right time”, said Stanishev.

The government and the judiciary power are actively engaged and concentrated on the improvement of effectiveness, transparency and professionalism of the law, so that we can prevent any future forms of misuse and corruption, added Stanishev.

He is resolute that the tempo of reforms will not slow down and added that non-compromising attitude and vigilance are needed to guarantee the full conformity with the law and transparency in the use of EU funds.

The European commission decided to temporarily block the funds for the Bulgarian States Infrastructure Agency on July 23rd 2008. The money were meant for the construction of the Liulin highway, the “Sofia-Daskalovo” road and the maintenance of road projects of the transport corridors TEN-T in Bulgaria.

Back then, the commission decided that the Bulgarian States Infrastructure Agency lacks the proper systems for control and management of the funds, as required by the common standards for the correct executions of EU-funded procedures.