The chairmen of the Phare executive agencies with the Finance Ministry Gergana Bremska and with the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works Dimcho Mihalevski have tendered their resignations, the Finance Ministry Press Center said on Tuesday.

The two will keep on performing these functions until replacements are appointed. The nominees will be publicized by the week's end, BTA reports.

Mihalevski said one of the major motives for his resignation is to resume payments under Phare, BTA points out.

The payments which Bulgaria was due to receive under Phare and which were recently suspended by the European Commission, stand at 50 million euro, Bulgarian Deputy Finance Minister Dimiter Ivanovski said Thursday. 36 million of these are for programs managed by the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works and 14 million are for Finance Ministry-managed programs.

The suspension was announced by the European Commission in a letter to the Finance Ministry on February 29 and concerns all projects managed by the Finance Ministry's Central Unit for
Financing and Negotiation and the Executive Agency for Phare with the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works

Mihalevski said that between April 15 and 20 he expects a positive decision in connection with the suspended funding. His prediction is based on a commitment assumed by the European Commission's Enlargement Directorate General, after all answers in connection with the suspended projects are provided, which was done on Monday within the required time frame, and the results of the audit which will be reported next week.

The Deputy Minister said his decision to resign was not made under political pressure. This is contained as an imperative condition in the letter of the Enlargement Directorate General,
which is apparently regarded as a condition for the resumption of payments under Phare, he said.

Photo: BGNES