March 10 (SeeNews) - The European Commission (EC) officially approved additional grant funding of 13.2 million levs ($7.1 million/6.7 million euro) in aid of operators in Bulgaria's fisheries sector to compensate them for disruptions caused by the war in Ukraine, the Bulgarian agriculture ministry said on Friday.
The financing is part of amendments that the Commission approved to Bulgaria's fisheries and aquaculture operating programme for the 2014-2020 period, the ministry said in a press release.
The formal request for the additional funding was made to the EC in mid-February, after the amendments were agreed in informal negotiations with the Commission.
The approval by the EC allows compensation to be provided for the temporary suspension of fishing activities, for lost income and for additional costs caused by market shocks in the fishing, aquaculture and processing sub-sectors as a result of the war, the ministry explained.
The deadline for submission of applications is March 30.
In November, the Commission granted approval to Bulgaria's maritime, fisheries and aquaculture operational programme for the new 2021-2027 period. The programme foresees total financing of 121.35 million euro ($128.5 million), of which 70% in EU-backed grants and the remaining 30% to be provided in the form of state funding.
(1 euro = 1.95583 levs)