Bulgarian municipalities have submitted 1494 projects to be financed by the EU structural funds under the Regional Development Operational Programme, of which 1022 are economically feasible, reported BTA.

There is a possibility to implement about 650 projects of them within 12 to 18 months, said Dr. Colm McClements, Consultant in the absorption of the EU structural funds Friday.

McClements is taking part in a conference on the financial decentralization of municipalities and absorption of EU structural and cohesion funds organized by GERB. He said that seminars for clarifications have been planned to be held in April in the regions, where experts will answer questions regarding the project implementation.

The weak investment planning and administration are among the main reasons, which might obstruct the absorption of the EU structural and cohesion funds, McClements added. The insufficiently well prepared projects and the complexity of the EU funding system are another obstacle.

McClements works jointly with the Regional Development and Public Works Ministry.