The concept of legislative proposals related to the Road Traffic Act will be presented within a few weeks. This was stated by Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications Rossen Jeliazkov during a hearing before the line committee at the National Assembly.
"The government has clearly and firmly stated that road traffic must be subject to safety policy. That is why, together with our colleagues from the Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works and State Agency for Road Traffic Safety, we are working on the legal framework governing public relations related to road traffic. The concept we are building generally covers the range of driver training and technical fitness of vehicles to control activity. When the final version is ready, it will be presented to the Transport Commission in the National Assembly, " Rossen Jeliazkov told to the MPs. He assured the deputies that all proposals related to the legislative initiatives under discussion are being carefully analyzed and the issues and controversies that have arisen will be cleared.
The meeting also raised the question of why Bulgaria is not included in the latest edition of the annual report of the Paris Memorandum on State Port Control, which places the flag of the respective country on the white, gray and black list depending on the performance of their vessels in inspections. . Minister Rossen Jeliazkov explained that this list is based on the total number of checks and detentions for a three-year continuous period for flags that have at least 30 checks. Within the framework of the Paris Memorandum, a total of 26 inspections of Bulgarian ships were carried out for the period 2016, 2017 and 2018. According to the current methodology, Bulgaria is not included in the latest issue of the White, Gray and Black list, which has been published since 1 July 2019, as there have been checks that are below the minimum number for the last 3 years. . The Minister explained that the activities of the ships under the Bulgarian flag are mainly carried out in the Black Sea. In this area of activity, apart from Bulgaria, the members of the Paris Memorandum are Romania and part of the Azov region of Russia. Due to the small number of inspections of Romanian vessels, Romania is also not included in this list.
"It is important to note that as a result of the change coming into force on 1 July 2019, vessels flying the flag of Bulgaria can no longer be banned from visiting a port of a member state of the Paris Memorandum interest of the Bulgarian shipowners and shipowners, "added Rossen Jeliazkov.
Minister Jeliazkov informed the Members of Parliament (MPs) about the implementation of the program for capital and lifting of locomotives and wagons at BDZ-Passenger Transport. It also announced upcoming orders for the purchase of new rolling stock. The Minister also commented on the administrative organization of the company, stating that the holding structure was being revised and an analysis for improving work processes would be ready soon.
During his hearing before the line committee, Rossen Jeliazkov also presented the newly appointed Deputy Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications Andreana Atanasova. He briefed the members of the Committee on Transport, Information Technology and Communications on the major changes set out in the Law on Amendment and Supplementation of the Electronic Governance Act, which are to be seen in plenary at first reading.
