European Union members Bulgaria and Romania need to streamline their administrative procedures to enhance the development of green energy and meet the targets for raising the share of renewable sources in their energy production, a senior official of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development said.

"There are general obstacles like slow and in some cases over-complicated administrative procedures and bureaucracy. It is very important for both countries to develop their plans taking into account the potential environmental impact on preserved areas of these developments which could undermine their positive effect," Senior Advisor, Power and Utility Team, EBRD , Milko Kovachev, said in an exclusive interview for SeeNews.

"There is also need to expand some of the policies to support renewables, for example in heat production and mobility, which are an important part of achieving the national goals," said Kovachev.

Bulgaria must cover 11% of its gross domestic energy consumption with electricity generated from renewable energy sources by the end of 2010 from less than 10% now and should increase that share to 16% by 2020. Its northern neighbour Romania should increase that share to 24% by 2020.