Public Relations and Protocol

The digital core that will bring together and analyse data in support of road safety is now taking concrete shape. This was stated by the Minister of Transport and Communications Georgi Peev at a meeting with the working groups preparing the technological, legislative and administrative aspects of the changes.

The Minister of Transport and Communications Georgi Peev has instructed that an agreement guaranteeing the rights of employees upon the entry of the new railway operator be prepared for signature within a week. This took place during a working meeting with representatives of BDZ, the National Railway Infrastructure Company and the private carrier Ivkoni Express, at which the organisation of the transitional period, the integration of the ticketing systems and the guarantees for staff were discussed.

The Ministry of Transport and Communications is monitoring the situation with the tanker Mentor, which according to preliminary information is carrying about 11,000 tonnes of sunflower oil.

“Bulgaria shares a common vision with the Transport Community for the development of the Western Balkans,” said the Minister of Transport and Communications, Georgi Peev, during a working meeting with the Director of the organisation’s Permanent Secretariat, Talis Linkaits.

The condition of the railway infrastructure and the progress of the modernisation of the Sofia railway junction were the focus of the visit by the Minister of Transport and Communications, Georgi Peev, and Deputy Minister Tsveta Timeva to Sofia Central Railway Station. The two officials inspected the progress of the renovation works on site and spoke with the workers at the site.

The seventh of a total of eleven stages of the “Development of the Sofia Railway Junction” project is currently being implemented. 

A shipping container has washed up in the Tsarevo area. The Military Prosecutor’s Office and all competent institutions have been notified of the incident. The Chief Directorate “Border Police” has taken action to guard and secure the area around the container.

According to the information available so far, the contents of the container are labelled as Christmas decorations.

The State is exploring options to increase the transport of grain by rail, with potential volumes exceeding 2.3 million tonnes per year. This became clear at a meeting between the Minister of Transport and Communications Georgi Peev and the Minister of Agriculture and Food Plamen Abrovski with representatives of the National Association of Grain Producers and the Association of Grain Traders. A representative of BDZ – Freight Services also took part in the meeting.

The Minister of Transport and Communications, Georgi Peev, held an urgent conversation with the Minister of Transport and Infrastructure of the Republic of Türkiye, Abdulkadir Uraloğlu, due to the build-up of trucks at the Bulgarian-Turkish border. The two discussed options for a swift solution and for normalising traffic through the crossing point.

The Minister of Transport and Communications, Georgi Peev, is calling on the Hungarian side to provide navigation corridors on the Danube River that would allow Bulgarian vessels stranded in the Hungarian section of the river to be moved out. Granting time windows for the movement of vessels that have been unable to continue their journey for weeks was the main topic of a telephone conversation with Hungarian Minister of Transport and Investment Dávid Vitézy.

Bulgarian authorities are monitoring in real time the movement of the capsized cargo vessel “Khoryv,” which is expected to enter the Bulgarian zone of responsibility within the next 24 hours. The Minister of Transport and Communications, Georgi Peev, and the Minister of Defence, Dimitar Stoyanov, held a meeting where courses of action were coordinated to ensure the safety of navigation.

The Minister of Transport and Communications, Georgi Peev, and the Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications, Hristina Velinova, held a meeting with H.E. Fahad Ibrahim Al-Mushairi, Ambassador of the State of Qatar in Bulgaria. The main focus of the discussion was the restoration of the direct air route between Sofia and Doha, operated by Qatar Airways for 15 years until the suspension of flights in February 2026.

Bulgaria is working to establish itself as a transport and logistics hub connecting Europe, the Western Balkans, and the Black Sea region, stated Minister of Transport and Communications Georgi Peev during his participation in the Sofia Economic Forum.

Speaking on the panel “Hardwiring the Region: Strategic Infrastructure and Connectivity in Southeast Europe,” Minister Peev highlighted the development of vertical transport corridors, cross-border connections, and the need for closer cooperation among the countries of the region.

Opportunities for more effective information exchange between healthcare institutions and the Ministry of Interior with a view to improving road safety were discussed at an inter-institutional meeting. It was hosted by the Minister of Transport and Communications, Georgi Peev, and attended by the Minister of Health, Katya Ivkova, and her deputy, Nikolay Valov, the Deputy Minister of Interior, Kaloyan Kaloyanov, representatives of the Ministry of Finance, as well as medical and administrative experts from healthcare institutions in which medical expert commissions operate.

The priority is to guarantee good working conditions and security for the employees who will transfer to Ivkoni Express. This was stated by the Minister of Transport and Communications, Georgi Peev, during a meeting with representatives of the trade unions in the railway sector and the management of BDZ. 

The Minister of Transport and Communications, Georgi Peev, and Deputy Minister Hristina Velinova held a meeting with a team from the International Finance Corporation, engaged by the previous government to carry out an analysis of the concessionaire’s performance of the concession contract for Vasil Levski Sofia Airport with regard to restoring the economic balance of the concession and resuming the payment of the concession fee.

“For the first time, a Bulgarian expert has received such a high distinction as the Jerome Lederer Safety Leadership Medal. It is an honour for me to congratulate Tzvetomir Blajev on this exceptional recognition. This is an award in the field of civil aviation that highlights the great professionalism and authority of Bulgarian specialists on the international stage,” said the Minister of Transport and Communications, Georgi Peev.

The newly acquired vessels “Timok” and “Dismar”, delivered under the DISMAR project for the modernisation of navigation infrastructure, were officially named today in Ruse. The godmother of the two vessels was the European Coordinator for the Rhine–Danube Transport Corridor, Margarida Marques.

During the official ceremony, Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications Anna Natova pointed out that these new vessels have an extremely practical task, namely fairway marking.

“The Danube cannot be the priority of a single country. Its water level at Ruse is the result of what happens in other regions of Europe – Bavaria, the Alps and the Carpathians,” said Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications Anna Natova at the opening of the international conference “Challenges and Prospects for the Development of Navigation on the Danube River” in the city of Ruse.

Following a complex rescue operation in severe weather conditions, the drone-struck motor vessel “Chelsea-3” was successfully towed to Burgas. The Minister of Transport and Communications, Georgi Peev, was at the port to welcome the rescue team and announced that the procurement procedure for the delivery of the first new rescue vessel will begin next year.

Five working groups will develop specific solutions to the key issues related to the provision of rail services from 13 December 2026. The Minister of Transport and Communications, Georgi Peev, set a two-week deadline for completing preparations for the provision of rail passenger services by a state-owned and a private operator. At the beginning of 2026, a contract was concluded under which Ivkoni Express will take over 25% of rail passenger services.