The government is increasing funding for the restoration of religious sites in rural areas.

At a thematic working meeting, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Food Dr. Lozana Vasileva announced improvements in the intervention "Preservation of the spiritual and cultural life of the population in rural areas" from the Strategic Plan for the Development of Agriculture and Rural Areas 2023 - 2027. The new Application Guidelines include a new selection criterion that gives priority to religious sites such as monasteries. The maximum amount of eligible expenditure has been increased from 300,000 to 400,000 euros, again at the proposal of the stakeholders.

An official list from the Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church with the religious sites that will receive a priority number of points when applying is to be provided. The intervention aims to preserve and revive the spiritual and cultural life in rural areas through the restoration, renovation, repair and reconstruction of buildings of religious significance - churches and monasteries. Eligible applicants are local divisions of denominations that are recognized as legal entities or are registered as such under the Law on Religions. Projects can be submitted by churches located in rural municipalities, in which no settlement has more than 30,000 inhabitants. The total amount of the grant under the intervention is 72,500,000 euros.

The draft of the Application Guidelines for intervention II.G.7 - "Preservation of the spiritual and cultural life of the population in rural areas" is to be published for public discussion.