| News Title | Summary |
| New vignette charges | As of 1st January 2006 will be implemented new vignette charges for motor vehicles
with foreign registration using the Bulgarian road network for specified periods of time. The
vignettes can be purchased at the border crossing points (for more details see www.aebtri.
com - freight transport - fiscal charges).
The vignette consists of two parts. The first one - called a vignette sticker - should be
stuck in a prominent place to the bottom right corner of the front window of the road vehicle
(this requirement is in force as from the 1 January 2005) and the second one is kept by
the driver of the vehicle.
As the validity of the vignette expires the driver of the road vehicle is obliged to immediately
take off the vignette sticker from the window. For detailed information download the file in PDF format. |
| New charges for excess vehicle dimensions and weight | On 28 November were changed the charges in Tariff 14 for excess vehicle dimensions
and weights. They are in force as from 6 December 2005. For detailed information download the file in PDF format. |
| Danube Bridge tolls | The tolls levied for using the bridge across the Danube between the towns of Rousse
(Bulgaria) and Giurgiu (Romania) are as follows:
freight vehicles with a load capacity of
5 t or less - EUR 13.00;
over 5t up to 16 t - EUR 30.00;
more than 16 t EUR - 46.00;
trailers with a load capacity of
up to 750 kg - EUR 7.00;
over 750 kg - EUR 13.00.
NB: Tolls are levied before crossing the bridge in the direction of Giurgiu; they are levied
on all vehicles, regardless of their country of registration. |
| The new BCC Ilinden was opened | On 9th December 2005 was opened
a new border-crossing checkpoint
between the Republic of Bulgaria and
the Republic of Greece. The ceremony
took place in the presence of the
Presidents of the two countries – Mr.
Georgy Parvanov and Mr. Karolos
Papoulias.
The building of the BCC Ilinden
– Exohi is under the implementation
of an agreement between the two governments
of Bulgaria and Greece from
1995 for opening of three new border crossing
checkpoints.Building of an access road, border checkpoint and a tunnel is in the framework of the project. The financing is under Phare
program – Cross-border cooperation with Greece and from the state budget.
The building of the access road to the new BCC covers construction works on 12 km
new road, including cross-roads and 10 large facilities – bridges, subways, overpasses,
drain-pipes, etc. The total amount of the construction works sums up to over EUR 9 million
provided by Phare program.
The building of the border tunnel is a result of further researches carried out by ecologists
authorized by the European Commission in order to be preserved the population of
brown bears. The total length of the tunnel is 447 m of which the Bulgarian part is 147 m
and the length of the access road to the tunnel from Ilinden BCC is 420 m. |
| The “Hemus” Motorway rehabilitation is accomplished | The Deputy Minister of Regional Development and Public Works opened the rehabilitated
section of the “Hemus” motorway financed by the European Union under ISPA program.
The sector is a part of Lot 4 of the project “Transit Roads” 3. The contractor of the
construction works is the Austrian company “Strabag”.
The contract was signed in October 2003 and comprises rehabilitation of four sectors
of “Hemus” motorway. The repaired sectors are on the direction of the European Transport
Corridor IV linking the Danube river with the Thessalonica Port.
The implementation of the reconstruction works on the project for modernization of
the transport corridors VIII and IX which include the sectors Stara Zagora – Kazanlak and
Sliven – Burgas is about to be accomplished. |
| International Seminar “The Bulgarian Road Transport in the European Union” | On 30 November 2005 the Bulgarian Minister of transport Mr. Peter Mutafchiev opened
the international seminar “The Bulgarian road transport in the European Union”, which was
organized jointly by the Bulgarian Ministry of transport, the French Ministry of transport,
public works, tourism and sea and the German Ministry of transport, construction and public
works and Federal office of goods transport. The event was part of a twinning project,
regarding the improvement of the system of control of road transport operations (technical
control on the road and checks of driving and resting times) in Bulgaria.
The different topics were unified into three panels – “ European policy in road transport
– main changes for the Bulgarian hauliers”, “State of road transport in France and Germany”
and “ Road transport in Bulgaria – expectations and adaptations” followed by the relevant
discussions. The participants – representatives of different companies in road transport
were most interested in the topics “Access to the profession and the market”, “European
social legislation”, “ Economic aspects”, “Road transport in France” and “Road transport in
Germany”
In spite of the differences all the experts outlined the main tendency prevailing in the
European Union – the establishment of unified regulations for the united multinational
transport market and the access to the market. Their aim is to facilitate the general policy
and gradual cancellation of the discriminatory measures not only in the EU, but also in third
countries to which goods are transported. |
| Bulgarian – Italian Joint Committee on International Road Transport | A meeting of the Joint Bulgarian –Italian Committee on International Road Transport
was held on 26 and 27 of October 2005 in Sofia.
Upon request of the Bulgarian delegation additional permits for goods transports during
the year 2005 were negotiated, as well as transforming the contingent of permits for the year
2006 in favour of the vehicles, which meet the requirements at least of EURO2 .
Concerning the forthcoming accession of Bulgaria to the EU the Italian delegation
proposed a mechanism for making the transition from the system of the currently operative
bilateral bus lines to the requirements set in Directive 684/94/EEC.
Both delegations noted with satisfaction that there were no difficulties for the transport of passengers
between Bulgaria and Italy. |
| Bulgaria: Public holidays for the year 2006 | 1 January - New Year’s Day;
3 March - National holiday;
23 April - Easter (Orthodox);
24 April - Easter Monday;
1 May - Labour Day;
6 May - Day of Bulgarian Army;
24 May - Day of Slavonic Alphabet;
6 September - Union Day;
22 September - Independence Day;
24 December - Christmas Eve;
25 December - Christmas Day;
26 December - Christmas Day. |