Ministry of Transport, Information Technology and Communications

The Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications Ivaylo Moskovski participated in today's meeting of the EU Council of Transport, Telecommunications and Energy - "Transport", which took place in Brussels.

During the debates over the topic: “Social aspects of road transport” Minister Moskovski pointed out two specific problems that face Bulgarian hauliers in the last year. The first one involves restrictions introduced for the use of the normal weekly rest in the cabin of the vehicle on the territory of some EU Member States. The Minister said that in Regulation 561/2006 there is no explicit ban on the use of the normal weekly rest in the cabin of the vehicle and the driver is given the choice to decide where and how to rest. In his words, to improve road safety by preventing driver’s fatigue, it is of high importance for the driver to use a normal weekly rest entirely, regardless of the place of use.

Minister Moskovski pointed out the fact that the restrictions affect mainly hauliers of peripheral EU countries, among which is Bulgaria. Hauliers should not be put at a disadvantage and principles of fair competition should not be violated, added Minister Moskovski. He added that enforcement activities should not be used as a discriminatory practice, as an act to protect domestic markets - a practice that contradicts to the EU principles.

The second serious problem that was mentioned by the Minister is connected with the introduced requirements for minimum wages in some Member States. Ivaylo Moskovski expressed a statement that those requirements contradict to the EU principles of free movement of people, goods and services. This new requirement is not in conformity with the social standards in some Member States, such measures lead to increased administrative burden for hauliers, he added.

Regarding measures to ensure better implementation of EU social legislation, Minister Moskovski said that it is extremely important for the transport sector to have a unified approach regrding the application of the rules in road transport. Efforts are needed to eliminate the possibility of unilateral implementation of restrictions and administrative barriers by Member States. In order to unify the rules and methods regarding enforcement in the field of social legislation, it  would be useful to develop a single European method of enforcement, he added.

Under item "Miscellaneous" of the agenda Minister Moskovski submited information on behalf of the Member States of the Central European Rotation Group (CERG) on the forthcoming elections in the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) for 2016 - 2019, Minister Moskovski informed on the decision of October 16, 2015 taken in the European Civil Aviation Conference regarding determination of the 8 European candidates for seats in the Council of ICAO. As a result, the CERG countries were deprived of representation and participation in the Council of ICAO and Bulgaria - of the opportunity to assume the rotating chairmanship of the group.

In his speech, Minister Moskovski expressed the general disappointment of the CERG countries from the decision, which shows a lack of solidarity and support between Member States. He pointed out on the expectations of the group to find an acceptable, effective and fair solution in long term to ensure a maximum level of European influence in ICAO.

Under such conditions of lack of support and lack of solidarity between EU Member States, Minister Moskovski informed the participants that Bulgaria withdraws from further competition and will not participate in the election for a seat in the Council of ICAO in 2016.

Within the frame of the meeting of the Council a working lunch was held on the topic: "Paving the way to an ever safer European road transport." Minister Ivaylo Moskovski said that the Bulgarian country supports the need for legislative initiatives and exchange of best practices to improve road safety, reinforce the enforcement of the implementation of traffic rules, improve the quality of education and raise awareness of all road users.

Minister Moskovski expressed the view that the implementation of intelligent transport systems is an important prerequisite for the construction of a modern road infrastructure, as their wider implementation will contribute to improvement of road safety at national and European level.