Public Relations and Protocol

Civil Aviation Administration Directorate General allowed aerial photography flights in Bulgarian airspace to update the Google database. The flights will start on July 23 in the Plovdiv region. They will continue until September 30, 2022, covering the cities of Sofia and Varna. The planes are scheduled to fly at an altitude of over 1,000 meters, depending on weather conditions. This type of flight is specific and requires multiple overflights over the specified settlements.

The European Commission approved the project for the modernization of the Voluyak-Dragoman railway line, which is part of the Railway Corridor to the border with Serbia. The project has a total value of BGN 166.2 million, which will be provided by OPTTI 2014-2020. Of these, BGN 130.2 million are European funds.

In May of this year the Government allowed the conclusion of a Financing Contract between MTC and the beneficiary National Railway Infrastructure Company (NRIC), before the final approval of the project by the EC, which is already a fact.

Bulgaria and Romania will work together to ensure the necessary navigability of the Danube River, it became clear during the meeting today in Ruse. The host of the meeting, on the initiative of the European Commission and the Danube Commission, was the Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications Vladimir Varbanov.

Minister of Transport and Communications Nikolay Sabev suggested that the requirement to replace the electronic taxi devices be postponed by 6 months. With the provision that came into force on July 8, 2022, electronic taxi devices must have assessed compliance under the Law on Technical Requirements for Products.

For the first time in many years, the Executive Agency for Exploration and Maintenance of the Danube River (EAEMDR) began to carry out dredging on its own in the Bulgarian section of the Danube River. The dredging activities started after targeted funding from the Ministry of Transport and Communications to EAEMDR. In this way, the commitments undertaken by the Bulgarian side to ensure the navigability of the Danube River are fulfilled.

"Port of Varna" EAD will continue to implement the policy pursued by the Ministry of Transport and Communications in relation to the commitment to Ukraine for handling grain cargoes, the Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications Vladimir Varbanov stated.

"I will demand from the newly appointed Executive Director of the Port, Ivaylo Gavrailov, to implement a flexible and active commercial policy in order to comply with our expectations", Varbanov added.

Funding opportunities in upcoming competitions under the Connecting Europe Facility and Digital Europe Program were presented today at the Euro Techno Info Day. The Ministry of Transport and Communications announced the topics and application requirements in advance to give companies and organizations time to prepare successfully.

This is the largest procedure launched under the Recovery and Resilience Plan. The deadline for receipt of proposals from all interested parties is 30 June 2022. The total number of proposals received across all 5 calls is 32.

Small and medium-sized companies in the field of telecommunications and licensed Internet service providers can use an investment loan from the Bulgarian Development Bank. The initiative to create the financial instrument belongs to the Ministry of Transport and Communications.

A guarantee has been provided by the Pan-European Guarantee Fund, under a program of the European Investment Fund, for direct financing of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises.

Investment loans range are from BGN 100,000 to BGN 1,000,000.

The Ministry of Transport and Communications is organizing an information day for Bulgarian companies and organizations, at which the rules for participation and the possibilities for financing under European programs in the field of digital and transport connectivity will be presented. The Connecting Europe Facility and the Digital Europe program provide a total of more than 470 million euros for projects.

I am convinced that people involved in road traffic must go through such training and exams, go through a needle's eye to acquire skills with which to avoid dramatic situations on the road. This was stated by the Minister of Transport and Communications Nikolay Sabev at a meeting with representatives of unions and associations of teachers in driving schools. Deputy Minister Nikolay Naydenov and Deputy Chairman of the State Agency for Road Safety Dimitar Iliev also took part in the discussion at the initiative of the Road Transport Administration Executive Agency.

The provisions of the Mobility Package I lead to negative economic consequences for road transport in the European Union. This was stated by the Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications Vladimir Varbanov at a Round Table on Global Transport and the War in Ukraine in the framework of the International Transport Forum in Leipzig.

Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications Vladimir Varbanov and the Turkish Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Adil Karaismailoglu confirmed that the Working Groups between the two countries have identified specific measures and steps to be taken to reach the final resolving of the issue. Both sides met in the framework of the International Transport Forum in Leipzig.

We are accelerating the steps towards the actual implementation of the measures identified under the Fast Danube Project. Together with Romania, we will seek European funding to create normal conditions for navigation on the Danube more days a year and with a greater capacity of ships in the next few years. This was stated by the Minister of Transport and Communications Nikolay Sabev during the Christening Ceremony of the newly built shunting ship "Iskar", owned by the Executive Agency for Exploration and Maintenance of the Danube River.

An inspection is underway, ordered by the Minister of Transport and Communications Nikolay Sabev, in connection with the signal spread by the Fighter Association to cover up irregularities in the activity of Union Ivkoni. The facts and circumstances surrounding the organization and implementation of inspections of the bus company, carried out over the years by employees of the Road Transport Administration Executive Agency, are being clarified.

All construction companies that carry out their projects on schedule and with the required quality have our support. With the others, we will consider the possibility of terminating contracts and announcing new procedures in which we will invite the best international companies to participate. This was stated by the Minister of Transport and Communications Nikolay Sabev during an inspection of railway projects along Sofia-Plovdiv railway line.

BULATSA Academy resumed the session for participation in the selection for the position of Air Traffic Controller. From today to October 31, those wishing to apply for the profession can submit documents on the official website of BULATSA www.bulatsa.com.

The specialized non-self-propelled vessels are designed to carry out rescue operations in the common Bulgarian-Romanian section of the Danube, in case of incidents and disasters and in operations to limit and eliminate spills of petroleum products and hazardous substances. The barges have specialized equipment and will be positioned in the ports of Ruse and Lom, and their scope will cover the common Bulgarian-Romanian section of the river.

The Minister of Transport and Communications Nikolay Sabev met with the Ambassador of Ukraine to Bulgaria Vitaly Moskalenko.

The capacity of the Bulgarian transport infrastructure and the logistics sector were considered.

The meeting was also attended by Oleksandr Riepkin, Adviser to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine on economic diplomacy. He expressed sincere gratitude for Bulgaria's support in this difficult for Ukraine time.

BULATSA launches a campaign for the selection of engineering and technical personnel and specialists in the field of information systems. We are looking for proactive and positive people with teamwork skills and experience from participating in projects, with analytical thinking, organized and adaptable.

More information about vacant positions, requirements for participation in the selection process and stages of the selection procedure can be found on BULATSA website at:

https://www.bulatsa.com/infocenter/karieri