The heavy-duty road transport sector in Bulgaria will receive financial support totaling 55 million euros. This has been made possible following the government's decision to adopt a de minimis aid scheme titled "Aid to support costs for maintaining the competitiveness of heavy-duty road transport in the Republic of Bulgaria." As reported by the government press office, the responsibility for the administration and management of this mechanism is assigned entirely to the Road Infrastructure Agency (RIA).

To implement the measure, the Council of Ministers approved a decree for providing additional expenditures to the budget of the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works for 2026, with these sums provided for in the central budget in accordance with the State Budget Act for this year. The support will be granted as de minimis aid and will be active until December 31, 2026. The funds are non-repayable grants paid out as a one-time payment to transport companies holding a license for the carriage of goods. The aid ceiling is up to 300,000 euros per enterprise over a three-year period, with each application subject to a check in the national and European de minimis aid registries regarding funds already received by the company and its related entities over the previous three years.

The application procedure involves submitting applications to the Road Infrastructure Agency, and a completed Declaration for de minimis aid must be attached to the documentation. The evaluation process will consist of two stages:

  • Verification of the eligibility of the submitted documents.
  • Assessment of merit, after which the number of enterprises meeting the criteria for the grant will be determined.

The specific amount for each enterprise will be determined through proportional distribution, limited by the total ceiling of 55 million euros. The basis for the calculations will be the toll fees paid by carriers in 2025 for using the national road network – motorways and class I and II roads. A percentage share will be calculated for each company based on the ratio between the fees it contributed and the total amount paid by all companies eligible for financing. In the event that funds remain unspent after the initial distribution, they will be further redistributed among the eligible participants, again observing the 300,000 euro ceiling for a three-year period.

The main objective of this scheme is to support the transport sector in the country, which is facing significant challenges and increased operating costs. It provides the necessary financial relief for carriers. It is important to note that the current framework builds upon a decision of the Council of Ministers from the end of December last year, through which the Road Infrastructure Agency was tasked with developing a state aid scheme. The project at that time envisaged a significantly smaller amount of aid – up to 50 million BGN, which is equivalent to 25,564,594.06 euros.