Public Relations and Protocol

Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications Rossen Jeliazkov expressed his confidence that the proposal for suppressing the texts, which envisages that drivers and vehicles must return to their home countries after every four weeks of driving, would most likely gain the necessary support. This became clear today after the Minister’s meetings in Brussels before tomorrow's vote on Mobility Package I at the Transport Committee in the European Parliament.

Irrespective of political differences, the institutions have to work for the common national interest, said the Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications Rossen Jeliazkov at a meeting with MEPs. The Bulgarian representatives from all groups in the European Parliament declared that will work together, in a coordinated way and with common massages.

“The protest of the hauliers is not a form of pressure, but a demonstration of the firm and explicit message against the division of Europe into central and peripheral countries”, underlined Minister Jeliazkov.

Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications Rossen Jeliazkov presented the Bulgarian position on the Mobility Package I during a meeting with one of the dossier rapporteurs, Wim van de Camp. The Ministers of Transport of Lithuania, Hungary and Poland also attended the meeting and supported the Bulgarian position. Jeliazkov informed Wim van de Camp for the upcoming protest of the Bulgarian hauliers in front of the European Parliament, which is appointed for tomorrow during the vote on the Package.

Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications Rossen Jeliazkov met with the Chair of the European People’s Party and a leading candidate for President of the European Commission Manfred Weber. The meeting was also attended by the Bulgarian MEP Andrey Kovatchev.

We should use all means of European bureaucracy to defend national interests during the voting on Mobility Package I in the European Parliament, said the Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications following today’s meeting at which were discussed the incoming actions before the review in the Transport Committee in EP on January 10, 2019.

We have created the necessary organization to strengthen the control of road and passenger road transport during Christmas and New Year holidays. This was announced by the Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications Rossen Jeliazkov after the headquarters meeting in connection with the winter environment and the expected high passenger traffic.

The Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications Rosen Zhelyazkov ordered an audit at "Sofia Airport" EAD to check the contracts for the supply of goods at the retail outlets and for the analysis of the receivables worth over BGN 10,000, as well as the actions taken for their collection.

The audit will be performed by the Internal Audit Unit of MTITC and should be completed shortly.

We have prepared legislative proposals on the Mobility Package I, to be submitted by the Bulgarian MEPs to the European Parliament. This was announced by the Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications Rosen Jeliazkov after a meeting with representatives of the branch organizations in the road freight transport.

A hundred and thirteen Bulgarian municipalities will be awarded grants by the European Commission for free high-speed WiFi access in public places under the WiFi4EU initiative. A total of 215 representatives of local authorities successfully applied for the competition announced in November. Winners from Bulgaria managed to apply in the first ten seconds following the launch of the competition competing with almost 13 000 participants. The grants were awarded on the first-come-first-served principle.

Bulgaria, Poland, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Croatia and Malta voted against the common approach on the legislative proposals in Mobility Package I, which was adopted within the Transport Council of the European Union. In the 15-hour negotiations, Bulgaria expressed its firm stance against the proposed texts.

During the discussions, it was agreed that vehicles should not be made to return home, which was one of the “red lines” for our country.

Next year will be crucial for the implementation of large projects financed under OP Transport and Transport Infrastructure, stated the Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications, Rossen Jeliazkov, at the 10th session of the OP Monitoring committee, 29-30.11.2018 in the town of Pravets.

According to the European Commission 215 Bulgarian municipalities (81% of all 265 local administrations) have successfully applied for the free public wireless internet access initiative - WiFi4EU. Only 16 of the pre-registered 231 Bulgarian municipalities failed because of technical reasons.

Due to the termination of the first WiFi4EU competition in May,  now the budget is doubled – 42 million euros. In December 2018, the European Commission will announce the winners among the municipalities and present the vouchers.

Some 40 % of the oil draining activities at the site of the sunken vessel “Mopang” are completed, announced the Executive Director of ES Maritime Agency, Captain Zhivko Petrov, before media representatives on the termination of the work for the season. He further announced that activities will be resumed in springtime favourable weather conditions are.

Captain Petrov presented the results achieved by now, noting that repayments amount to    687 405 leva, the invoiced ones amount to 1 098 000 leva, that is 40% of the allocated budget of 2,5 million leva.

Six key stations along one of the busiest railway lines in the country - Sofia-Bourgas, are to be modernized, announced the Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications, Rossen Jeliazkov, who launched the implementation of the project "Reconstruction of Stara Zagora Railway Station" at a total amount of 11 million leva. The funds will be allocated to an entirely new engineering infrastructure, with the corresponding telecommunications, as well as the renovation of the platform and the surrounding area, said the Minister.

86% of the modernization of the railway section Skutare - Orizovo is completed. This was stated by the Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications Rossen Jeliazkov at the time of the project inspection. The 26-kilometer stretch between Skutare and Orizovo will be completed early next year, the minister added.

Deputy Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications Dimitar Genovski and Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland Piotr Wawrzyk validated a postage stamp on the occasion of the 100th  anniversary since the establishment of diplomatic relations between Bulgaria and Poland. The ceremony was attended by the Presidents of the two countries - Rumen Radev and Andrzej Duda.

The new texts in the "Mobility Package I" proposed during the Austrian EU Presidency are much more restrictive. This is what the Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications Rossen Jeliazkov said during today's meeting with European deputies Andrei Novakov and Petur Krumubashev, as well as representatives of the branch organizations. According to him, these proposals will become a mechanism that will lead to serious shocks for the Bulgarian economy and industry.

The main objectives of the project "Enhancing Transport Safety in the common Bulgarian-Romanian section of the Danube River by improving Disaster Response through cross-border cooperation" (Danube Safety Net) will be presented in Constanta tomorrow. It is a joint project of the administrations of Bulgaria and Romania as Executive Agency "Maritime Administration" is the leading partner. The Implementation agreement was signed on 14 September 2018 in Calarasi, Romania, and its duration is 36 months.

Railway infrastructure is subject to constant inspection, stated the Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications, Rossen Jeliazkov, before media representatives on yesterday’s incident at Kresna Gorge. Jeliazkov made it clear that the railway network’s condition is assessed every season with regard to the weather forecast. National Railway Infrastructure Company’s staff conduct daily inspections of the railway lines, he added.

The centennial anniversary of the ascension of Tsar Boris  III to throne is significant, not only because he is a remarkable person but also because the Bulgarian statesman and politician has been a passionate fan of philatelic art, said Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications Rossen Jeliazkov during the validation of a special postage stamp dedicated to the anniversary. The seal for putting into use was placed together with the successor of the Bulgarian monarch - Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.