Public Relations and Protocol

The position of the Bulgarian state on “Mobility Package I” and the actions taken by the Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications Rossen Jeliazkov were presented by Deputy Minister Anguel Popov today in Plovdiv to hauliers from all over the country.

The European Commission allocated 293 million Euros for the modernization of the railway line between the cities of Plovdiv and Bourgas. The rehabilitation of the 293-kilometer section, which was initiated in the past programing period under Op Transport 2007 – 2013, will be completed with the funding.

I will pronounce on the resignations of the members in the Board of Directors at BDZ Holding EAD only after the completion of the audit procedures carried out by the Internal Audit Unit at the Ministry at the end of the month, announced the Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications, Rossen Jeliazkov, at a hearing in the sectoral parliamentary committee.

Over 80 per cent of global data are based on geographic information, while the sector market is estimated at more than 400 billion USD annually, announced the Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications, Rossen Jeliazkov, at the opening of the 20th International GIS Day.

There is no technological solution or industry that do not use geographic data, added the Minister. Their significance increases in state governance, administration, defense and security.

The College of Commissioners has decided notify the Court of Justice of the European Union on Bulgaria’s failure to comply with the obligations to fully transpose into national law the requirements of Directive 2004/49 / EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on safety on the Community's railways and amending Directives 95/18 / EC and 2001/14 / EC (the Directive).

Within two years, Bulgarian legislation needs to be updated with the texts of the new European Code for Electronic Communications and I personally commit myself to this, said Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications Rossen Jeliazkov. He participated in the Annual Conference of the Bulgarian Association of Cable and Communication Operators and took part in the discussion of the draft Code of Ethics for Consumer Telecommunication Services. Minister Jeliazkov stressed that the European Code is expected to be published in the EU Official Journal at the end of the year.

Next week, I will decide on the deposited resignations from the members of the Board of Directors of Holding BDZ EAD. This was announced by the Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications Rossen Jeliazkov during a briefing on the subject.

"The resignation of the BDZ leadership is not an assessment of their work, but that is my understanding of policy and is about to decide in the next few days whether to accept the resignations together or separately," he said.

All topics in the transport, IT and communications sectors are important and work has not stopped. This was announced by the Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications Rossen Jeliazkov during a meeting with representatives of the Association of Industrial Capital in Bulgaria. In his words, the main task of the MTITC management is to avoid stressing the ministry's system, continuing the implementation of the targeted policies and taking adequate action to solve the pressing issues.

We change training, examinations and control of young drivers. This was announced by Deputy Minister of Transport, Information Technologies and Communications Angel Popov at today's conference "Together for Safer Roads", organized by the Union of Bulgarian Motorists. In his words, these issues were laid down in the division of the Road Traffic Act and the creation of two new laws - the Vehicle Drivers Act and the Road Vehicles Act, as well as the legal framework for them.

EUR 3.3 million can be awarded to the Bulgarian municipalities that apply for the European Commission WiFi4EU initiative for high quality internet in the centers of public life. The voucher portal will be open on November 7 (Wednesday) from 2 p.m. (GMT) to 6 p.m. on November 9 (Friday) 2018.

The budget of the competition is € 42,000,000, which will fund a total of 2800 municipalities in the European Union. Funding for each country can be up to 8% of total funding.

The thematic plan for issuing postage stamps, postal products and special postage stamps for 2019 was approved by the Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications Rossen Jeliazkov.

The philatelic year will begin with the launch of a post-philatelic edition dedicated to the 125th anniversary of the first self-publishing of the novel Under the Yoke. A postage stamp "Bulgarian folk costumes" is envisaged for a final finish in 2019.

WiFi4EU competition, under the European Commission’s initiative for free public WiFi access, will be launched on Wednesday, November 7, 2018. Some 229 Bulgarian municipalities have already applied for participation. The day the competition is open representatives of the Bulgarian local authorities who have already applied, will only have to press the register button. The remaining 36 municipalities have enough time until November 7 to apply and participate in the competition.

The transport system has an acute need for educated and well-qualified man-power, desiring to develop in this sector, stated Deputy Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications Velik Zanchev at a graduation ceremony of 2018 graduates with a bachelor's degree  of  “Todor Kableshkov” University of Transport. He stressed that the sector is developing extremely dynamically and staffing in railways, metro, maritime transport, aviation and road construction is a key factor for progress.

Within the Informal EU Transport Council, 29-30 October, 2018, Minister Jeliazkov participated in a joint meeting with Latvia, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Poland, Estonia, Ireland and Malta on Mobility Package I. All the participants in the meeting shared the position not to accept vehicle-return regulation as it is a measure to increase empty trips and increase CO2 emissions from heavy-duty vehicles. It was highlighted that drivers shall be free to choose where to have rests.

Within the EU Informal Council of the Ministers of Transport, October 29-30, 2018, Minister Jeliazkov held talks with his counterparts from Austria, Romania, Spain, Portugal, Lithuania, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia putting forward Bulgarian arguments on the controversial issues in Mobility Package I. He was firm in his disagreement with the disproportional, discriminatory and dividing rules for member states. Minister Jeliazkov sought support for the proposal removal the regulation for vehicle return highlighting Bulgaria’s peripheral location.

On 29 and 30 October, Minister Rossen Jeliazkov took part in the Informal Council of Transport Ministers of the EU. The Ministers discussed the legislative proposal of the European Commission on the termination of summertime switch and the Bulgarian party highlighted the importance of a harmonized approach and a realistic transition period. In the session on road safety, the significance of the issue for Bulgaria was pinpointed.

The Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications, Rossen Jeliazkov, held a meeting with World Bank’s Chief Executive Officer, Kristalina Georgieva, to discuss issues of mutual interest with the forthcoming concession of Sofia Airport being the focus of the talks.

Modern infrastructure is essential for providing logistics services, so both the government and businesses are working to develop an integrated, modern and sustainable transport system. This was stated by Deputy Minister of Transport, Information Technologies and Communications Dimitar Genovsky before the participants in the Sixth Logistics Business Conference. "A good indicator of the success of our efforts is the growth in shipments of goods and people in recent years. In 2017, 136.7 million tonnes of freight and 748.5 million passengers were transported, "he added.

It is good when there are initiatives in our common European home that help to bring about cohesion, mutual acquaintance and, at the same time, justify the resources invested. This was announced by the Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications, Rossen Jeliazkov at the opening of a national Seminar for Support of the Automatic Translation System in the EU eTranslation.

A platform for information exchange between MTITC representatives, the National Assembly Transport Committee, Bulgarian representatives to the EP and sector organizations, was set up to discuss topical issues on Mobility Package I, announced the Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications, Rossen Jeliazkov, before EC representatives during the hearing at the National Assembly on negotiations progress on the Package. In his words, the system presents a tool for the timely exchange of positions and decision-making.