Public Relations and Protocol

Bulgaria is interested t in building a third bridge over the Danube and will insist on its implementation. This was announced by the Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications, Rossen Jeliazkov, within the framework of parliamentary hearings.

Today, April 11, 2019, applications for participation in the procedure for designation of a concessionaire and award of concession for the construction of Civil Public Airport Sofia - public state property were opened. According to Art. 96, para. 1 of the Concessions Act, the commission for opening of the procedure opened the applications received in due time in a closed session.

During the deadline for submission of applications and offers, applications from the following participants were received:

Bulgaria is ready to host the Regional Cyber Security Forum for Europe in 2020. Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications Rossen Jeliazkov stated this during a meeting with the Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union, Houlin Zhao. This will be the fourth edition of the forum holding in Bulgaria.

Bulgaria is one of the countries with the highest participation of women in the ICT sector, about 34% of all IT specialists. The Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications Rossen Jeliazkov announced this during a meeting today with Doreen Bogdan-Martin, Director of the Telecommunication Development Bureau of the International Telecommunication Union. She is the first woman in the history of the organization, in a senior management post. The talks are part of Minister Jeliazkov’s program during the World Summit on Information Society.

The development of ferry connections between Bulgaria and Georgia was the main topic of the Sixth Meeting of the Bulgarian-Georgian Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation. The talks were held yesterday and today in Sofia under the chairmanship of the Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications Rossen Jeliazkov and  the Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia George Kobulia.

Today, by a majority of approximately 2/3, the European Parliament adopted at first reading proposals on the so-called Mobility Package I.

Despite the alleged procedural violations by the representatives of the group of the same-minded states and the active behavior of the Bulgarian side, the European Parliament voted in full restrictive texts. This again proves that the goal is to redistribute market shares, not to improve the social working conditions.

Within 2 months in  "Automobile Administration" (IAAA), structural and organizational changes will be made. This was stated by the Executive Director of IAEA Boyko Ranovski at a briefing today regarding the detainees from the Pernik District Department.

He reported that an analysis of the overall activity of the agency that identified weak and risky places and the measures to be taken to overcome them was made. "After the changes, the IAEA will work in a new way different from the previous one," Ranovski noted.

After 43% of Bulgarian municipalities have won funding for high-speed wireless internet in public places, now more than 150 municipalities can participate in the second phase of the WiFi4EU initiative.

We continue our efforts to find texts on the Mobility Package I that are fair for the transport sector. This is commented by the Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications, Rossen Jeliazkov, in Bucharest, where the Informal Council of the European Union Ministers of Transport is held.

I have appealed to seven more countries to support the postponement of the Mobility Package I for the next European Parliament. The Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications, Rossen Jeliazkov announced this, during today's briefing. He emphasized    that following yesterday's vote on the agenda of the upcoming European Parliament meeting it is clear that a number of countries, which are not currently in the like-minded group, show hesitation. "These countries are Portugal, Spain, Ireland, Greece, Slovenia, Slovakia and Croatia.

I am mad at putting the Mobility Package I on the agenda of the European Parliament. This was announced by the Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications Rossen Jeliazkov after today's vote on the agenda of the upcoming plenary session of the European Parliament on Wednesday. In his words, this Mobility Package, in its form, does not and can not have a future. It is against the principles of the European Union, European law, the Lisbon Treaty and is completely discriminatory towards the countries on the periphery of the Union, said Rossen Jeliazkov.

Today, 25 March 2019, by Decision Number PK-3/25.03.2019, Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications, approved a notice of amendment Number 2018/S 127-290417, published in the Official European Union’s Journal on 5 July 2018. Amendments on the concession’s documentation are approved by the same Decision.

The notice foresees prolong the term for the submission of applications and tenders to 11 April 2019, 02:30 pm Bulgarian time zone. The applications will be open on April 11, 2019 at 03:30 pm, Bulgarian time zone .

All Bulgarian representatives in the European Council, the European Parliament and the Permanent Representation work responsibly and uniquely on the Mobility Package I. Such a position was expressed by the Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications, Rossen Jeliazkov, on allegations that the negotiations on the Mobility Package I are not enough to protect the national interests.

We will insist on the possible revision of the Mobility Package I to adopt texts that will guarantee our national interest. This was announced by the Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications Rossen Jeliaazkov after the today’s hearings of the ministers in Parliament. He specified that the Mobility Package I was included in the provisional agenda and that the final agenda for the plenary sitting of the European Parliament is due to be voted on 25 March.

The Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications Rossen Jeliazkov congratulated the Bulgarian aviation industry for the sector's successes during the past year. This was at the award ceremony on the traditional annual journalistic awards organized by the Bulgarian Airlines Association.

Initiatives on attracting more women in the field of information and communication technologies were presented among the countries from the BSEC region at a workshop. The Ministry of Transport, Information Technology and Communications hosted the event, which is part of the Bulgarian Presidency of the BSEC Organization. The participants agreed that attracting women in ICT sector is part of the national policies that need to be developed.

Deputy Ministers of Transport, Information Technologies and Communications Dimitar Genovski and Culture Rumen Dimitrov validated a post-philatelic edition on 120 years since the birth of Pancho Vladigerov.

The Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications Rossen Jeliazkov and his colleagues from Poland, Hungary, Lithuania and Latvia sent a letter to the President of the European Parliament, Antonio Tajani, on the development of the theme of the Mobility Package I.

The Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications Rossen Jeliazkov sent a letter to the Bulgarian representatives in the European Parliament calling for joint action with all Member States of the Mobility Package I. In the letter, Rossen Jeliazkov stressed that the protection of the Bulgarian transport sector is a national cause and it is necessary to mobilize all the resources to defend the national interest before the plenary session of the European Parliament, to be held on 25-28 March.

The Minister of transport, information technology and communications Rossen Jeliazkov met with representatives of the hauliers industry. He presented up-to-date information related to the Mobility Package I before the forthcoming European Parliament Session on 27 March 2019.

Rossen Jeliazkov pointed out that, according to the published draft-programme on 20 March, a meeting of the Conference of Presidents will be held, within which the final draft agenda for the plenary session would be approved.