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Bulgaria's caretaker Prime Minister Marin Raykov and caretaker Transport Minister Kristiyan Krastev will open Thursday a high-speed rail line connecting the southern city of Svilengrad to the Kapitan Andreevo border crossing point The 17KM route is fully electrified and allows trains to travel at a speed of up to 160km/h according to reports of the Bulgarian National Television (BNT) a unique railway bridge over the Maritsa River was build The Svilengrad - Kapitan Andreevo rail line is the first completed railway project financed under the Transport Operational Program We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria has been contained on all fronts and is currently under the control of the Bulgarian fire department approximately 150,000 acres have been scorched near Svilengrad A partial state of emergency has been declared in three municipalities in the Haskovo region of Bulgaria due to a large fire near Svilengrad European Commissioner Mairead McGuinness lauded Bulgaria's vigilant border management during her visit to the Kapitan Andreevo checkpoint on the Bulgarian-Turkish border The fight against the fire in Sakar Mountain continues for more than 30 hours Parts of the Bulgarian border crossing "Kapitan Andreevo" will be declared a national security object by a decision of the Council of Ministers "Everyone wants positions – in regulatory bodies and ministries," he emphasized Bulgaria’s toll system now has the technical capability to track average vehicle speeds as announced by the National Toll Management following a meeting with Regional Development Minister Violeta Koritarova The income required to cover living expenses for a working individual and a three-member family with a child under 14 has remained almost unchanged compared to June according to an analysis by the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria (CI The Council of Ministers has adopted a resolution to set the minimum wage at 1,077 leva fire alerts are received from across Bulgaria answering a question whether he would apologize to the Bulgarian people for violating the Constitution Google Street View Cars Return to Bulgaria for Major Mapping Update Housing Prices Soar in Bulgaria’s Major Cities as Demand and Supply Strain Increase Get quality reporting directly into your inbox The decision was aimed at the “prevention of corrupt practices and improving the performance of the Customs Agency by optimizing all its resources” The closure followed a series of arrests over the years of customs and border police officers caught with bribes The director of the Svilengrad Customs was also arrested at the beginning of 2015 13 at the Kapitan Andreevo checkpoint on the Bulgarian-Turkish border blocking the border for more than 48 hours Thirty-three customs officers were detained during the weekend operation conducted by more than 140 employees of the National Security Agency the Main Directorate for Combating Organized Crime Eleven of those arrested were released after spending 24 hours in custody Charges against them were dropped and they have returned to work The other 22 were charged with corruption for allegedly taking bribes ranging in the amount of € 2-5 (US$ 2.17 – 5.4) per car to € 150 - 300 (US$ 163 – 326) per bus or truck as camera footage showed them dividing the loot in a back room Ten of the 22 were released on bail and 12 remain in custody Prosecutor General Sotir Tsatsarov told the state-owned Bulgarian National Radio that the entire shift of customs officers at Kapitan Andreevo had been arrested Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov said at the time of the arrests that the authorities have been watching them for a long time and had evidence they were “robbing money that could have been used for retirement pensions and road construction.” The Special Anti-Mafia Public Prosecutor told a news conference that investigators had worked for six months to set up the operation 106 homes and vehicles were raided and currencies worth € 76,649 (US$ 83,297) were seized The largest amount found on a single suspect was € 32,000 (US$ 34,776) and 15,000 Bulgarian levs (€ 7,665 or US$ 8,330) Investigators say the bribed customs officers did not check vehicles passing through the checkpoint The bribes were pooled daily by one officer in charge and redistributed among the group at the end of each shift with the supervisor taking the largest cut Bulgarian Finance Minister Vladislav Goranov said the operation might be seen as justifying closure of the Svilengrad customs unit but added that the problem required structural changes that would lead to better management of the Customs Agency Support from readers like you helps OCCRP expose organized crime and corruption around the world you’ll be directly supporting investigative journalism as a public good You’ll also gain access to exclusive insights and benefits Agriculture official Yanaki Chevenyakov was dismissed from his post as head of contracting for the Bulgarian State Fund for.. The founder and leader of Bulgaria’s ultranationalist party Ataka (Attack) Authorities in Europe have dismantled several investment fraud schemes across the continent and recovered some of the money.. While they might sound encouraging for Taiwanese who are considering investment opportunities in Bulgaria such events do not appear to represent the needs of Taiwanese businessmen who have already established a presence in the country who says that his small factory in Svilengrad Bulgaria is struggling because of Turkey’s failure to honor trade commitments with the EU the event offers little cause for optimism “I haven’t heard anything about it,” says Liu “But I don’t think this type of meeting will affect our company.” [1] he had high hopes that European Union (EU) standards would provide some much-needed stability for his Istanbul-based textile business A confluence of circumstances had convinced him to establish a plant in the town’s industrial zone for the processing of raw materials used in polyurethane (PU) leather manufacturing.  we can get all the required certification,” says Liu That’s why we made the decision to invest in Bulgaria.” [2] Businesses Struggle with Government Restrictions and Custom Rules      In addition to the push factor of Turkey’s flagging economy, Svilengrad’s location close to the Turkish border was an attractive feature for Liu’s investment. Another consideration had been a contract with Spanish multinational Inditex, which required that its orders of PU leather to be free of the solvent dimethylformamide (DMF). Following the announcement of new regulations by the European Commission (EC) DMF was to become severely restricted from December 2023 As Inditex would not permit a joint-production arrangement Liu had a decision to make: Apply for a separate license for a non-DMF facility in Turkey where he had become increasingly disillusioned with the opaque bureaucracy or else find a hassle-free alternative.  because Inditex stopped PU shoe production,” says Liu He notes that the Spanish firm has dramatically scaled down its presence in Turkey—and looks set to exit the market due to concerns over rampant inflation “If I’d opened the second [non-DMF] factory in Turkey I would have been screwed.” By far the biggest motivation for setting up shop in Bulgaria was Istanbul’s increasingly harsh tax regime and its seemingly arbitrary application “When I came to Turkey more than 20 years ago VAT] and customs rules have become more and more ridiculous.” A series of presidential decrees in 2023 rendered the already slender margins for importers of raw materials practically unsustainable with manufacturers able to recoup only half that amount through sales of finished products “There’s always 10 percent stuck in stock,” says Liu it has become almost impossible to claw anything back in part because of the questionable use of protectionist provisions passed in December “But often the products are not comparable with what can be made in Turkey Turkey doesn’t have the know-how to produce these raw materials.” With the Turkish lira in a seemingly inexorable spiral of depreciation any refunds that are issued are “almost worthless” by the time they materialize Liu decided to outsource the pre-processing stage of his operations to Bulgaria where the harmonized EU VAT system guarantees transparency and regular refunds the move has not extricated him from the clutches of Turkey’s tax and trade authorities Istanbul appears to have acted extraterritorially in conducting inspections of Liu’s premises in Svilengrad and even the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry [BCCI] can’t help,” says Liu “They just tell me when there will be inspections and say there’s nothing they can do I don’t think Turkey should be able to behave like this in an EU country.”  Turkish trade officials have told him to move the raw materials plant to Istanbul When he explained why this is not feasible the officials recommended relocating to a “bigger country like Germany Italy or Spain.” Goods produced in Bulgaria “They don’t trust the Bulgarian government and think everything is fake,” he says.  A Bulgarian think-tanker with expertise in EU-East Asia trade relations offered insights into the reasons for this She highlights cases of companies trying to dodge tariffs for heavily regulated industries in Turkey “They import Chinese goods through Bulgarian ports then simply repackage or relabel them in a Bulgarian factory and import them into Turkey as products made in the EU,” she says they can “circumvent not only taxes but also certain safety standards and certification procedures.” However who noted that the topic of Taiwan is assiduously avoided at meetings with Bulgarian government officials [3] stresses that the items in question “were definitely goods intended for direct sale or consumption and not raw materials in a production cycle.” [4] “For each of the three years we’ve been in Bulgaria we’ve had to apply for these documents,” says Liu they say the ATR or the Certificate of Origin is not real.” To smooth things over the customs authorities invariably demand a hefty deposit while the authenticity of the documents is supposedly assessed could be upwards of EUR $30,000 (USD $32,500) and the “investigation” could take anywhere from six months to a year “I’m lucky if I get anything back,” Liu says How about all the rest?”        Are Still Not Enough      The obstacles that Liu continues to face indicate that the establishment of a Taiwan-Turkiye Parliamentary Amity Association in Taipei in March is unlikely to yield substantive progress The inauguration ceremony was attended by Turkish Representative to Taiwan Muhammed Berdibek and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Hsieh Wu-chiao (謝武樵) of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP In her capacity as chairwoman of the association DPP legislator Lai Hui-yuan (賴惠員) spoke of “expanding trade and cooperation in business.” For Taiwanese exporters Yet, Taiwanese exports have been welcomed with open arms when it suits Istanbul’s purposes—some of which are nefarious. In January, a joint investigation by The Reporter revealed that Taiwanese-made machine tools are being illegally transhipped to Russia via Turkey almost 40 percent of Taiwan’s machining centers arrived in Russia from Turkey— in direct contravention of sanctions imposed by Taipei is booming—as long as it’s the right kind.  After repeated follow-up e-mails from the author and Bütikofer’s office DG Trade finally responded more than two months after the initial inquiry which is responsible for the EU’s southern neighbors wrote that the EU’s engagement with Turkey was “focused on providing for the smooth functioning of the Customs Union [CU] ensuring that CU rules are fully and correctly implemented more than half of the 26 barriers that had been identified had been “effectively addressed,” with “progress under way” on the remaining obstacles Among the concrete achievements was the removal of “additional duties on 500 product groups coming from third countries in violation of the EU-Türkiye Common Customs Tariff.” [7] while addressing irritants related to Turkey’s import surveillance regime Eichhorn observed that both Turkey and the EU were entitled to “use trade defense measures in line with the WTO rules.” The EC was tasked with monitoring whether trade defense instruments were being legitimately applied formal complaints about perceived violations of bilateral agreements could be registered via the Single Entry Point – a mechanism under DG Trade for handling complaints related to non-compliance and trade barriers who is vice chairman of the European Parliament-Taiwan Friendship such problems highlight the need for “a more formalized trade agreement” between Taiwan and the EU He highlights EU rejection of a bilateral investment agreement (BIA) with Taiwan last year as a missed opportunity “Bulgaria cannot take the lead on this,” says Kovatchev who led an EU delegation to Taiwan in November 2023 “We’re always going to follow developments on the European level.” While the official reason for the rejection of the BIA was a lack of demand on both sides Kovatchev and other Taiwan-friendly MEPs believe the “terminology” and proposed content of the agreement made it politically sensitive he remains hopeful that a reformulated version can pass muster Meanwhile, the passage of resolution 2023/2829 (RSP) by the European Parliament in December gives some cause for optimism The decree relates to Taiwan-EU trade and investment ties and requires the EU to sign a deal on supply chain resilience and Taiwan’s participation in international organizations.  even Taiwanese representatives in Bulgaria seem lukewarm about the prospects of it yielding significant change especially with Bulgaria mired in political instability “At least it’s something,” says one individual with a Taiwanese quasi-governmental organization “But we have another election coming up [in June] after parliament was dissolved [in February] so …” With Sofia facing its fifth change of government in two years no long-term policy changes can be expected Other Challenges for Taiwan-Owned Businesses Taiwanese businessmen with operations in Bulgaria have highlighted disparate work cultures as a factor in the teething troubles they have faced Taiwanese OEM Davmore has been supplying components to a Bulgarian bicycle frame manufacturer for five years now and is in the process of establishing its own manufacturing plant in Sofia.  as the Bulgarian firm is often reluctant to adapt to the unfamiliar but tried-and-trusted methods offered by its Taiwanese partner “It’s difficult to get them to adapt and follow a new “They just stick to what they know.” He gives the simple example of a production line set up where each worker has a specific role and the frames are welded “station by station.” While this is standard practice in manufacturing the Bulgarian factory insisted on “one person they realized this was just too slow,” he says things have become much more stable.” [11] Chen is hopeful that the incentives that drove his decision to establish a presence in Bulgaria will bear fruit he cites favorable tax conditions as a major factor as the EU seeks to encourage manufacturers from the bicycle industry—which is centred on Taiwan and Southeast Asia—to relocate parts of their supply chains to Europe “We’ve been consulting with European brands over the past few years and they want more ‘made in the EU’ [products],” says Chen “Depending on the percentage manufactured in the EU so that’s why we set up the factory in Bulgaria.” it is of scant consolation for Liu and other Taiwanese businesspeople who are struggling in the face of lax enforcement of existing regulations “We hoped Bulgaria would [be a base to] expand into the EU market,” says Liu The main point: Despite tax incentives encouraging Taiwanese businesses to settle in Bulgaria lax custom rules and Turkey’s import surveillance both cause difficulties for Taiwanese companies such as the May 14 conference held in Sofia show interest in deeper cooperation between Bulgaria more practical solutions like the establishment of an EU-Taiwan bilateral investment agreement are needed [1] From conversations with the author via WhatsApp [2] Interview at company office in Taichung [3] From conversations with the author via e-mail [4] From conversations with the author via e-mail [5] From conversations with the author via e-mail [6] From an email from Nele Eichhorn to Reinhard Bütikofer [10] From conversations with the author via e-mail and create opportunities for strengthening the relationship between Taiwan and the international community Tens of thousands of hectares of forest and agricultural land have burned in a fire in south-central Bulgaria A fire broke out on July 13 in Svilengrad town in Haskovo Province Svilengrad Mayor Anastas Karchev told Bulgarian National Radio Karchev noted that the fire has been advancing toward the Mladinovo and Mihalich villages in southern Bulgaria The fire was brought under control near the town of Lesovo adding that strong winds in the region were making it difficult to completely extinguish the fire Bulgarian fire and civil defense officials reported that more than 200 fires have broken out across the country in recent days A 34-year-old Greek citizen was arrested by police officers in Svilengrad after trying to escape a traffic police check said the Regional Directorate of the Interior Ministry in Haskovo The pursuit ended at the Kapitan Petko Voyvoda-Ormenio border check point with Greece where it became clear that the driver had consumed alcohol and did not have a driving license The Greek admitted that his driver's license was revoked in his home country for drunk driving.  He was detained for up to 24 hours in custody Contacts +359 2 9262 210 By accepting cookies you can enjoy a better experience while browsing pages A collision between two heavy goods vehicles early this morning has closed the "Maritsa" highway in the direction of Turkey The incident occurred at kilometer 103 of the highway according to the Traffic Police in Haskovo Initial reports indicate that the crash happened when a trailer blocked the roadway and was struck by a truck traveling behind it The truck's driver sustained injuries and was transported to a hospital in Edirne Traffic has been rerouted along a bypass route through Svilengrad and the village of Kapitan Andreevo the temporary traffic organization is adding to the congestion caused by the backlog of heavy goods vehicles on the highway the queue of trucks waiting to cross into Turkey through the Kapitan Andreevo Border Checkpoint remains at about 30 kilometers long stretching to the junction for the town of Lyubimets This buildup is linked to the Turkish Kapıkule checkpoint's implementation of phase 5 of the NCTS transit system which has slowed processing times significantly A series of powerful earthquakes shook western Turkey on April 23 causing panic among residents but resulting in no fatalities or serious damage A powerful earthquake with a magnitude of 6.2 struck western Turkey at approximately 12:50 Bulgaria and Turkey's long-standing partnership continues to serve as a model in Europe for securing national and external EU borders Bulgaria is intensifying efforts to enhance regional energy security through the development of strategic infrastructure aimed at reducing dependence on Russian gas Bulgaria and Romania have formally invited Turkey to take part in establishing NATO's Regional Component Command Headquarters for Special Operations in the Black Sea region recently visited Sofia on an official trip he shared exclusive insights with Anadolu Agency Israel has turned to Bulgaria for assistance in battling the rapidly advancing wildfires in areas near Jerusalem The Bulgarian mobile operator A1 has confirmed that it is experiencing technical difficulties affecting both calls and text messages across its network A series of minor earthquakes were recorded in the Nessebar area with the strongest tremor measuring 3.3 on the Richter scale A woman sustained serious injuries after being attacked with pepper spray and an electroshock device and subsequently set on fire inside a hospital in the Bulgarian town of Botevgrad A 25-year-old man is in critical condition following an accident at the amusement park in Yambol A serious traffic accident in the Bulgarian town of Harmanli has left a 13-year-old child in critical condition after he was struck by a car while riding an electric scooter You don't have permission to access the page you requested What is this page?The website you are visiting is protected.For security reasons this page cannot be displayed This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page Romania and Hungary on Monday signed an agreement in Svilengrad The new force will consist of 120 border police officers from the four countries and will be deployed along the Bulgaria-Türkiye border Officials said that this collaboration is aimed to enhance efforts against illegal immigration human trafficking and other security challenges While Bulgaria's border protection remains the major responsibility of the Bulgarian border police and military troops the newly established joint force will play a supporting role innovation and atmosphere are key to success as demonstrated by entrepreneurs of many live houses in Chengdu City in southwest China's Sichuan Province during the May Day holiday these venues are thriving and transforming how people engage with live music "I started working in music education in 2015 I was teaching for so many years and felt like it couldn't stay that way forever the very first thing I considered was ensuring the singers could comfortably sing and the people listening could actually understand and enjoy those songs," said Deng Wenxuan and they can interact with you," said Liu Xuanxuan the bar started attracting some excellent customers Even though the number of people wasn't significant so we have to wait for a table on-site," said a customer I try every week to grab a spot," said another customer While the bar dives deep into a niche market CD Concert Live focuses on offering high-quality live music to a broader audience Our entire sound system is concert-level quality The 'clap light' concept in here is a unique feature you can clap a button to light up your table 60-percent of our artists are graduates or current students from music academies CD has always maintained a deep collaboration with universities addressing both the employment issues and our talent needs we will continue to explore more innovative features," said Liu Xiao The experience of the next entrepreneur also highlights the importance of innovative products Price is a key factor in attracting young people We position ourselves as a small tavern but strive to improve in areas like music playfulness and the quality of our products," said Xie Mingjun The 2025 Meituan Bar Guide says niche spots like live houses and social pubs are growing over 30 percent year on year Whether it's 20 tables helping people unwind or 100 lights creating a buzzing vibe live houses are bringing fresh energy to cities through innovative service and digital upgrades Live houses in Chengdu gain popularity with cozy atmosphere Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker The town of Svilengrad is on the border with Turkey and the busiest border checkpoint with Bulgaria’s southern neighbor is situated here In the recent past the town used to be known as the Bulgarian Las Vegas because of the big number of casinos and gaming halls Now the Covid-19 epidemic has changed the situation But the interest of visitors is now directed to cultural routes and following in the footsteps of history And in this respect Svilengrad is a "gold mine" for the curious traveler Director of the local history museum Elena Miteva tells us that literally translated the name of Svilengrad means “City of Silk” This industry has long since died out in Svilengrad but its development can be traced in the local history museum they can visit the medieval Neutzikon fortress near the village of Mezek It dates back to the 11th-12th century and the time of Byzantine emperor Alexius I Komnenos but the Thracian tribe of Odrysians also lived here,” Elena Miteva says “In front of the fortress tourists can take part in reenactments and historical games But perhaps even more interesting is the Thracian domed tomb from the 4th-3rd century BC It has an almost 21-meter-long dromos /corridor/ Inside tourists can see holograms of the artifacts found in it I also recommend visiting the ancient and medieval fortress of Bukelon in the village of Matochina which played an important role in Bulgarian history Bulgarian Tsar Kaloyan defeated the Latin army The view from these hills in the direction of today's Turkey and the city of Edirne is very beautiful In the villages of Matochina and Mihalich tourists can see two rock churches dating back to the 9th-10th century these villages are difficult to access due to the bad road to them tourists still visit them and remain fascinated.” And what can we say about the beautiful nature About 80% of the territory of the municipality is part of the European network of protected areas "Natura 2000" The hills of Sakar Mountain reveal their beauty and are home to an incredible variety of birds do not forget to walk on the old stone bridge of Svilengrad connecting the two banks of the Maritsa River See more about some of the emblematic landmarks near Svilengrad in the short video which can be translated automatically using the settings at the bottom right of the screen Bulgaria’s Minister of Tourism Miroslav Borshosh and Zurab Pololikashvili Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organization (UN Tourism) have officially signed the agreement for Bulgaria to host the 9th Global Conference on Wine Tourism,. The Mini Bulgaria Park is an unusual place for a tourist tour spiritual culture and natural landmarks of Bulgaria meet Gorna Oryahovitsa often remains undeservedly hidden from the eyes of tourists even though it is only about 10 km away from Bulgaria's old capital which lies at the foot of the Balkans on the banks of the. english@bnr.bg The Main Directorate "Border Police" has announced a recruitment drive for 400 new employees This is part of a larger effort to fill an additional 1,264 positions within the police force that have recently been approved The competition will include 390 positions in the Border Police Regional Directorates that require candidates to hold a high school diploma 10 positions in the Border Police Directorate necessitate a bachelor's degree Successful candidates will be required to complete a six-month training course at the Academy of the Ministry of the Interior Applications can be submitted at various Border Police Regional Directorates as well as at border police departments located in Sofia the director of the Plovdiv Customs Office was arrested earlier today for allegedly facilitating a new smuggling route for cigarettes opened fire with a gas pistol near a kindergarten in Sofia's Lyulin district Bulgarian Interior Minister Daniel Mitov has described the case of the man who died in police custody in Kazanlak as “a disgrace” to the Ministry of Interior Nearly 80,000 drivers have been recorded speeding on the streets of Sofia by cameras installed by the Traffic Police according to Commissioner Nikolay Krusharski The identities of the two male bodies discovered near Sofia’s "Iliyantsi" district have been confirmed as 63-year-old twins Ivan and Toma Penkovi A serious criminal case has emerged in Sofia after the body of a man was discovered in a water-filled basement of a municipal apartment building According to Bulgaria's Military Intelligence Service report for 2023 Russia remains the dominant destabilizing force in global security A deviation in the operation of a system on the F-16 Block 70 fighter has been identified during the aircraft acceptance process according to the Bulgarian Air Force Commander The second F-16 Block 70 fighter jet purchased by Bulgaria has departed from the United States alongside European Council President Antonio Costa visited the Arsenal military plant in Kazanlak Russia and the volatile situation in the Western Balkans are identified as the primary threats to Bulgaria’s national security in the 2024 Bulgaria is actively defending its national interests within NATO according to Defense Minister Atanas Zapryanov The fight against fires continues in six regions of the country with the situation in the Sakar mountain being the most severe Although the fire was controlled yesterday strong winds reignited it between the villages of Shtit and Mihalich director of the Main Directorate "Fire Safety and Protection of the Population," reported on BNT from the village of Mustrak in Svilengrad 20 forest officers with five firefighting vehicles Two Air Force helicopters and volunteers are expected to join the efforts Jartov stated that there is no immediate need to evacuate the local population but evacuation measures can be taken if necessary He noted that the primary cause of the fires is human negligence the fire in the Osogovo mountain is spreading in difficult-to-reach areas Over 400 acres of terrain have been affected The fire is located between the villages of Preklonitsa efforts will focus on creating clearings as it is too dangerous for firefighters and forest officials to enter the fire zone the fire situation is calming due to the calm wind three fires are still burning in the neighboring country which could spread to Bulgaria if the wind picks up Forest officials and firefighters are monitoring the border area and are prepared to respond if necessary Firefighting efforts in the Sredna Gora mountain continue The fire near the village of Banya was brought under control late last night In the villages of Mihiltsi and Ivan Vazovo volunteers are needed to help clear the terrain and extinguish the fire manually Teams remained on duty in Mihiltsi overnight and the road from the village to Hisarya has been reopened With high temperatures expected in the coming days the fire department urges citizens to be cautious a fire broke out between the "Obelya" and "Nadezhda" districts in the capital Witnesses reported high flames that alarmed local residents The fire department confirmed that dry grass was burning A team of firefighters responded shortly after midnight and quickly extinguished the fire A major fire destroyed the roof of the National High School of Applied Arts "Trevnenska Shkola" in the Bulgarian town of Tryavna on April 4 A significant fire broke out on Wednesday night in Sofia's Lozenets district London's Heathrow Airport has been forced to shut down completely due to a major power outage caused by a fire at an electrical substation The Bulgarian Ministry of Education and Science is launching an initiative to train teachers to lead discussions with students on critical social issues following the tragic incident in Kocani with the fire originating in the village of Studena The strong winds are exacerbating the situation and the road to the village has been closed using heavy machinery to create clearings and prevent the fire from reaching populated areas a fire has been brought under control but teams remain to monitor for re-ignition The situation is similar in the village of Strem where the fire is now under control with no danger to populated areas and evacuated residents have returned home safely part of the forest and dry grasses are still burning but the fire department has control of the situation with helicopters assisting in dousing the flames the fire in the village of Radovets is localized and under observation A significant fire has also erupted near Plovdiv affecting the villages of Pesnopoi and Mihiltsi Over 70 forest employees and firefighters are battling the blaze which has consumed nearly 2,000 decares in a pine forest located in the rugged inaccessible terrain of the Chukorliyski Bair area a partial state of emergency has been declared in Hisarya and Kaloyanovo with local authorities warning residents to keep windows closed and stay indoors due to heavy smoke Volunteers are urgently needed for firefighting efforts in the Miromir area are experiencing significant fire activity A red code for fire danger has been issued for 21 regions across Northern and Southern Bulgaria with an orange code for Central and Eastern Bulgaria prompting local authorities to impose partial states of emergency in some areas fire safety and protection teams are actively working to safeguard affected populations and properties with the fire spreading over more than 10,000 decares and resulting in the destruction of three houses Over 25 individuals in the Haskovo region have been fined for starting fires with 25 people sheltered at the Ustrem Monastery Authorities are urging the public to avoid activities that could start new fires such as discarding unextinguished cigarettes or lighting dry grass The Ministry of the Interior has listed several active and localized fires across multiple regions emphasizing the ongoing firefighting efforts and the significant areas affected Farmers are particularly concerned about the risk to agricultural produce and are advocating for a fire alarm system in small settlements to enable quicker response times and minimize damage An 18-year-old girl who had been reported missing in Haskovo has been found dead The European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) allows Bulgarian citizens to receive emergency medical treatment free of charge while traveling within the European Union in the industrial zone near the Meden Rudnik district in Burgas A partial state of emergency has been declared in the Nedelino Municipality by Mayor Boyan Kehayov due to power outages affecting three villages with certain regions expected to soon reach epidemic levels Moldova will introduce a state of emergency nationwide for a duration of 60 days due to concerns over a potential halt in Russian gas supplies starting January 1st The luxury complex will include a large hotel two restaurants and shopping areas.The site was bought from the city authorities for around EUR 202,000 The complex will have a total build out area of 61,000 sqm and the hotel which will be the second largest in the country will have 624 rooms in two nine-storey buildings and a height of 28m The main gaming room will have an area of 4,000 sqm while two smaller VIP rooms will both have areas of 1,000 sqm The complex will also include a shopping centre built on a 0.8 ha site and two restaurants CA Immo exits non-core market Serbia with the sale of the 19,600 sqm office building Sava Business Center in Belgrade Both the sales price and the buyer are subject to confidentiality As the PBSA sector finally takes off in Poland it is now increasingly attracting international operators and investors Eurobuild CEE spoke to Xior's investment manager about why it has such confidence in the Polish market Residential developer Develia has signed a preliminary agreement to acquire all the shares in Bouygues Immobilier Polska the Polish subsidiary of Bouygues Immobilier ESA logistika has leased 15,000 sqm in Prologis Park Piotrków GLP has completed the development of its Wrocław V Logistics Centre and has received a BREEAM rating of Outstanding Panattoni has secured EUR 40 mln in financing from BNP Paribas for the development of Panattoni Park Sosnowiec IV Newgate Investment (NGI) and Redkom Development are developing a large retail park in Bydgoszcz Deutsche Hypo – NORD/LB Real Estate Finance has provided a five-year green loan to Olivia Seven for the refinancing of the Olivia Prime A office building in Gdańsk-Oliwa communications and security company Motorola Solutions has signed a five-year lease renewal 18,000 sqm at the Green Office complex in Kraków’s Podgórze district Falling interest rates and easing monetary policy across the eurozone and CEEi are boosting investor confidence in the region’s commercial real estate market reveals Colliers in its ‘Beyond Real Estate | Economy’ report Panattoni is to build the Panattoni Park Mainz Süd in Erbes-Büdesheim bei Alzey Axi Immo has presented its latest report “Warsaw Office Market – Q1 2025 The market opened in 2025 on a steady footing with a notable increase in leasing activity and a modest decline in vacancy landlords continue to focus on upgrading existing assets and prioritizing quality over quantity Convenience store chain Żabka has officially opened a new logistics centre in Kąty Wrocławskie The first stage of the development will serve 1,500 stores in the Wrocław area Romanian Post has leased over 5,000 sqm of logistics space in CTPark Bucharest to serve as its temporary regional courier and logistics hub for Bucharest JLL has announced the sale and leaseback of two properties by a manufacturing company in a deal worth over PLN 1 bln Warehouse developer CTP is adding 2,000 sqm to its Clubco coworking development in Brno pbb Deutsche Pfandbriefbank has extended an investment facility to PineBridge Benson Elliot for the Diuna Office Park in Warsaw The hotel market in Bucharest continued its recovery in 2024 while the ADR has finally surpassed the milestone of EUR 100 Torus has announced its All.inn students’ residence concept that is soon to appear on ul Strabag Romania has been selected by the developer and investor PPF Real Estate as the general contractor for the construction of its new office property class A office building to the 6th District of Bucharest According to the report released by research firm Spectis “Modular construction market in Poland 2024-2029” top 100 manufacturers of prefabricated buildings made of wood or LECA generated revenue of nearly PLN 10 bln in 2022 with 47 pct of the figure contributed by sales in the modular building segment Polish construction company Erbud has signed a cooperation agreement with South Korean giant Daewoo Engineering & Construction to jointly implement projects in the energy and key industrial infrastructural and military sectors across Poland Moscow city authorities have “asked” development and construction companies to enlist their workers to fight in the war in Ukraine in exchange for orders One of these corporations is to provide the Russian defence ministry with 30 volunteers ready to be posted to the front by the end of August Skanska has been commissioned to construct a new building for Polish video game developer CD Projekt on its main campus in Warsaw’s Praga Północ district the European Border and Coast Guard Agency has opened a tender to select a contractor for the design-and-build project of its future headquarters in Warsaw Erbud has been awarded a PLN 29.8 mln contract to modernise the Rector’s Office of the Medical University of Warsaw (WUM) Atlas Ward Polska has started work on two logistics parks with a total area of over 70,000 sqm on the eastern outskirts of Szczecin for Panattoni Polish industrial developer MDC2 has chosen Rex-Bud Budownictwo to be the general contractor for MDC2 Park Gliwice in Upper Silesia Yareal has commissioned FineTech Construction to be the general contractor responsible for completing the final stages of its Lixa office complex in Warsaw Prices for building materials in Poland increased by close to 30 pct over the last twelve months according to Savills Erbud is to reconstruct the Nabrzeże Szyprów shore in Gdańsk for PLN 28.5 mln Hochtief Polska has completed construction work on an educational building for the University of Warsaw on ul Dobra for the department of applied linguistics International investor Cain International and its local development partner have secured a EUR 36 mln loan from PKO BP to complete the development of The Park Kraków Polish construction firm Erbud has merged its subsidiary Mod21 with German wooden modular buildings specialist GWI to establish a new company Erbud has been awarded a PLN 298.4 mln contract to build a distribution centre for discount retailer Lidl near Błonie Erbud has announced a PLN 52.8 mln contract with Polish Export Trade & Investment to build three residential buildings in Warsaw’s Praga-Południe district Spring has very much sprung and everywhere is bathed in the first warm sunshine of the year I have in the back of my mind the terrifying fo .. The Polish warehouse market has finally stabilised after the post-pandemic boom but new challenges and opportunities are on the horizon for the sector UBM Development has been given the go-ahead for the first wooden office building in Poland: Timber Park in Poleczki Business Park in Warsaw The office market in Warsaw is currently experiencing a period of stability in terms of supply and take-up Recent data on overall tenant activity indicates that clients in the cap .. Receive all the latest information from the world of real estate by e-mail the construction of the Aura residential building designed by Robert Konieczny's office KWK Promes According to a report by research company Spectis “Construction companies in Poland 2025-2030” the total revenues of the 300 leading construction gro .. The Globalworth Foundation has provided the authorities in Bucharest with office space for a Covid vaccination centre Panattoni BTS and Commercecon together support the establishment of the second Centaurus Foundation centre in Poland to help horses and other animals intends to focus on operations in other reg .. Six class A office buildings in the PRO Portfolio which is jointly owned by PineBridge Benson Elliot and Sharow Capital have been granted BREEAM In-U .. Who won this year's 14th edition of the Eurobuild Awards The jury and guests gathered at the Double Tree by Hilton hotel in Warsaw chose this year's .. Enjoy the last set of recordings with comments straight from this year's MIPIM we asked experts from our home country for their input will take place on 9-10 April 2025 at the Norblin Factory Event Hall in W .. we invite you to hot episode of the "Eye to eye" podcast The UN Nansen Refugee Award award will go to Poland for the first time According to the office of the UNHCR High Commissioner this year's regional wi .. Czech developer CTP has been granted a EUR 200 mln loan from the European Investment Bank for the roll-out of its large-scale solar panel installation .. while the ADR has finally surpassed the milestone .. Jarosław Szanajca plans to resign from the position of president of the management board of Dom Development at the end of the year and join the superv .. The Polish and Danish governments have entered preliminary discussions for the construction of a tunnel between Szczecin and Copenhagen underneath the .. Viterra has moved into its ​​new 1,500 sqm offices in Olivia Prime part of the Olivia Centre business complex in Gdańsk Panattoni has acquired two properties near Gothenburg The brownfield sites will be replaced by a modern 43,000 sqm facility Contemporary cities are grappling with the challenge of fostering dynamic growth while alleviating environmental pressures Colliers has taken over the management of the Studio B office building located in the Warsaw Wola district The property is owned by Stena Real Estate .. The University of Warsaw has signed a contract with the general contractor for a project at ul The new building will house the faculti .. Velis Real Estate Tech is officially changing its name to Singu adopting the title of its property management product the construction of the Panattoni Park Unterfranken has officially started Clouds of mosquitos have flooded the town of Kapitan Andreevo in south eastern Bulgaria near which is located the largest crossing point to neighboring Turkey Local residents and border officers have alerted the authorities in nearby town of Svilengrad and the larger Haskovo region "This is literal - clouds of mosquitos appear in the evenings," said a local resident Municipal authorities in Svilengrad have promised to spray the area with anti insect chemicals on Tuesday night Employers in Bulgaria are legally required to implement all necessary measures to prevent and minimize workplace accidents with 45.2% of those aged 16–74 having bought goods or services via the internet in the past year The fourth edition of the LUNAR Festival of Lights in Sofia will illuminate 10,000 square meters of art across some of the city's most iconic buildings and public spaces from May 8 to May 11 The National Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology forecasts that May will bring temperatures ranging from 2°C to 33°C across Bulgaria a trend that has persisted for over 30 years A Romanian family paid 3,084.60 leva (1,500 euros) for medical treatment at the Burgas University Hospital following a serious road accident Hundreds of volunteers took part in the initiative of the Svilengrad Municipality to restore a burned pine forest near the village of Studena in the Sakar Mountain the Municipality's press centre said on Friday including Topolovgrad Mayor Bozhin Bozhinov as well as residents of the villages in the region participated in the restoration of the forest The Municipality noted that in just two days the volunteers planted 10,000 oak saplings on four acres of municipal land The Svilengrad Municipality provided transportation The planting material was donated by Gorata.bg to Svilengrad resident Svetoslav Dimitrov one of the volunteers who suffered severely in the fire disaster The forest fire of 2024 in the region started from this area of the forest The fire lasted four days until it was localized and a partial state of emergency was declared for Svilengrad Municipality Thousands of acres of forests and crops were burned in several villages In the beginning of the 16th century ,a unique bridge was built over the Maritza River The massive stone facility was unlike any other With its construction a settlement started to emerge nearby and it has been growing throughout the centuries to become today’s town of Svilengrad the old bridge links the two sides of the town and is Svilengrad’s symbol It is also under UNESCO protection as one of the most impressive architectural monuments in Southeastern Europe The town of Svilengrad is close to the Bulgarian borders with Greece and Turkey People in the town feel the proximity of their neighbors and that is why in local shops everything is translated in three languages A number of foreigners pass through the town Many of the citizens here use bicycles for local commuting The number of cyclists has grown since the streets of the town have been renovated Snezhana Yaneva of the local municipality also says authorities have been trying to motivate people to ride bicycles “Our town hosts sport events of national level and there are a number of sport clubs here Bicycle riding is a traditional sport for Svilengrad On June the 11th an annual bike tour starts in Svilengrad The route goes from Svilengrad to Greece and Turkey and there are a number of foreign participants in the competition This summer the municipality will also complete a project dedicated to the important historical monuments in the nearby village of Mezek I am talking about the longest Thracian tomb discovered so far Our aim is to turn Svilengrad into an important tourist destination.” Traditionally in June a festival entitled “Songs and Dances without Borders” takes place in Svilengrad More about the festival from Vanya Stefanova Secretary of the “Prosveta” community center: There are folk ensembles that come here each year There is a curious story related to the Srednogorka ensemble from the town of Panagyurishte When they were guests here for the first time two of the dancers became engaged Next year they came to Svilengrad together with their baby and baptized him in the local church The festival usually takes place in the hall of the community center We have not managed to find sponsors in the past years The municipality provides some financing and we always have awards for the winners,” Stefanova says The wildfire burning near Bulgaria’s southern town of Svilengrad is expanding prompting all available fire services to be mobilized The fire has engulfed 800 decares of forests while the strong wind hampers firefighters’ efforts to contain the blaze Fifty officials of the special forces of the Forest Directorates and Forest Associations of Bulgaria’s towns of Kurdzhali have gathered together pooling efforts to restrict the fire Firefighters have focused their efforts on extinguishing the northern part of the blaze Earlier the blaze covered terrains of some 15 -20 000 decares in total after which the southeastern and northwestern side of the fire were contained Fire crews are expected to continue battling the fire near Svilengrad during the night two more wildfires continued burning nationwide A wildfire started Friday in the pine-forest above the monastery in Kremikovtzi neighborhood of Bulgarian capital Sofia Another blaze is destroying hundreds of decares of forests and valleys in the villages near the town of Vratsa located at the foot of Bulgaria’s main mountain range Stara Planina The fire is crawling towards the fields with sunflowers in the region “The fire is now creeping towards the mountain ridge and it has already covered a very large area,” said a local mayor concerned that due to the strong wind and the jagged terrain There have been no reports about casualties du to the wildfires Bulgaria commemorates one of its most significant national holidays – the Day of Saint George the Victorious and the official Day of the Bulgarian Army all retailers in Bulgaria will be required to display prices in both leva and euros a major British tour operator specializing in holidays to Bulgaria has halted all its operations effective April 24 Wage growth in Bulgaria is projected at 9.3 percent for 2025 a 15.4 percent rise in the minimum wage since January The World Bank has revised down its forecast for Bulgaria’s economic growth in 2025 the weather will be mostly sunny—around and after midday cumulus and cumulonimbus clouds will develop Bulgaria and Greece have signed a draft Joint Declaration regarding the use of the Arda River waters over the next five years following a decision by the Bulgarian Council of Ministers The weather across Bulgaria on May 1 will begin with sunshine in the morning followed by an increase in cloud cover during the afternoon The Constitutional Court of Bulgaria has repealed legislative changes made two years ago that permitted the installation of photovoltaic (solar) systems on arable agricultural land Bulgaria will experience mostly sunny weather accompanied by a light to moderate east-northeast wind The dried out bed of the river Kanaklyika in Svilengrad has been transformed into a pretty urban park and a favourite place for taking walks The entire park area spreads to 0.5 hectares and various species of coniferous and deciduous trees There are bird houses along the park alleyways as well as signs with photographs of protected species of birds and plants typical of the region Inside the park itself two environmental corners have been created – for children up to the age of 6 Translated from the Bulgarian and posted by Milena Daynova Only on the Day of Bravery and Holiday of the Bulgarian Army (May 6) we will provide our visitors with the opportunity to enter three of perhaps the most interesting machines from our outdoor exhibition Dozens of enthusiasts and nature lovers will kick off the 44th edition of the Move and Win campaign with a spring hike to Bozhur Hut The meeting point will be the Vladishki Bridge in Veliko Tarnovo The third edition of the Samardala Festival will be held on 3 May in the central square of Nova Zagora is used as a spice and is harvested at the peak of its flowering in May we will provide our visitors with the opportunity to enter three. Bulgaria's government has made a test run of a newly renovated southern highway railway section where trains can go at 160 km/h The testing of a section of the Plovdiv-Svilengrad railway line which runs from the center of Southern Bulgaria to the border with Turkey was attended by Prime Minister Boyko Borisov Regional Development Minister Lilyana Pavlova The government delegation took a trip with from Krumovo to Parvomay which was taken in 20 minutes with a speed of 165 km/h the distance there would take about an hour "After 2013 Bulgaria can apply for a total funding of EUR 300 M from the EU which amounts to modernized railway sections for 100 new trains," stated Bulgaria's Transport Minister Ivaylo Moskovski He further promised that by 2014 the entire railway line from Plovdiv to the border with Turkey and Greece would be modernized and the distance would take about 1 hour 15 minutes The Bulgarian Transport Ministry pointed out that the Plovdiv-Svilengrad railway line renovation is the largest infrastructure project of "National Company Industrial Infrastructure"; it is being carried out with a transition in the types of EU funding – from the pre-accession ISPA program to Operational Program Transport the project provides for the reconstruction of one of the oldest railway lines in Bulgaria; once completed passenger trains will be able to run at 160 km/h The project encompasses the reconstruction and partial doubling of approximately 150 km of railway track as well as structures which will enable the complete doubling of the line in the future Bulgaria's National Company Industrial Infrastructure has seen completed 99% of the renovation of the Krumovo-Parvomay railway line by the Greek company TERNA and the Parvamay-Dimitrovgrad line's modernization has been completed at 95% by the Italian company Astaldi The rest of the Plovdiv-Svilengrad line – from Dimitrovgrad to Svilengrad – will be funded under EU Operational Program Transport The final section – from Svilengrad to the Turkish border – is supposed to be completed by the summer of 2012 Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport and Communications Grozdan Karadjov has officially signed a contract for the acquisition of 35 new electric multiple unit The Bulgarian government has authorized Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport and Communications Grozdan Karadjov to sign a contract for the acquisition of 35 single-deck Parking in central Plovdiv is set to become significantly more expensive a festive trip on Bulgaria's oldest restored steam locomotive will offer a nostalgic experience for retro train enthusiasts Plovdiv will host a historic event at HILLS OF ROCK 2025 where fans will witness the union of legendary rock and metal bands with the new generation of artists shaping the future of the scene Bulgaria is approaching the final stages of preparation for transitioning card payments from the national currency Minister of Economy and Industry Petar Dilov held a meeting with Susan Falatko the Charge d'Affaires at the US Embassy in Bulgaria The Court of the southern Bulgarian District of Haskovo has issued an order for the permanent detention of Deniz Turkmen who is the brother-in-law of “legendary” Bulgarian mafia boss of Syrian origin Filip Naydenov – Fatik was was killed in an AK-47 raid on a central boulevard in Sofia in 2003 Deniz Turkmen was arrested in the southern Bulgarian town of Svilengrad while he was on a train entering Bulgaria from Turkey on Sunday according to a European Arrest Warrant issued by the District Court of Marseille Turkmen is wanted by the French authorities over frauds He is believed to have been the head of an organized crime group involved in the trafficking of stolen luxury cars including three cases in which Bentley cars were rented Turkmen presented an Irish passport on the name of Dimo Tshondiya He told the police he came to Bulgaria because he wanted to see his children Turkmen was deported from Bulgaria in 2001 as a threat for the country’s national security Turkmen is alleged to have been involved in illegal arms and drug tracking in Bulgaria He is the brother-in-law of Filip Naydenov – Fatik and the son-in-law of Fatik’s father Ismet Shaban is known to have come to Bulgaria in the 1960s with his family and to have helped the so called “State Securty” the secret police and intelligence of communist Bulgaria to set up channels for the trafficking of Captagon pills This was part of the “secret trade” of the Bulgarian communist regime Shaban’s family enjoyed a number of privileges in communist Bulgaria who took the Bulgarian name of Filip Naydenov and much of the already “privatized” secret trade of the former communist regime and to have been involved in dealings with all major organized crime groups in the country He was brutally murdered on the Gotse Delchev Blvd in downtown Sofia in 2003 by AK 47 Kalashnikov shooters is going to remain in the arrest until the Haskovo Court rules on the request for his extradition to France Bulgaria’s economic ties with France have shown significant positive progress in recent years as trade between the two countries is expected to exceed 2.616 billion euros by 2024 Marine Le Pen has been barred from running in France's 2027 presidential election following a court ruling on an embezzlement case Marine Le Pen has been convicted of misappropriating public funds resulting in a five-year ban from running for public office France and Britain are pushing forward with plans to deploy troops to Ukraine as part of a broader effort to secure a future peace agreement with Russia French Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu stated that France will firmly oppose any move to demilitarize Ukraine A 33-year-old man from the village of Semchinovo has been taken into custody by the police for physically assaulting a 10-year-old child A 12-year-old boy from Lukovit has been hospitalized with two broken arms and head injuries after reportedly being assaulted and thrown from a bridge The Sofia Police has launched a targeted operation against drivers of electric scooters and electric motorbikes who engage in reckless behavior in the city's central areas Direct trains via Plovdiv will be suspended from June 25 due to the modernization of the Railway Station in Plovdiv the press centre of the Bulgarian State Railways (BDZ) said on Thursday.  The international train between Sofia and Istanbul will run on an alternative route through Stolnik - Karlovo - Tulovo - Stara Zagora A newly appointed train will travel along the route of the international train from Sofia to Plovdiv to serve travellers in this direction Trains from Sofia via Plovdiv to Varna and Burgas as well as from Varna and Burgas via Plovdiv to Sofia Chirpan and Mihailovo stations instead of Krumovo and Dimitrovgrad which will reduce the travel time by an average of 15 minutes All trains on the Sofia - Svilengrad - Sofia route will run only between Sofia and Plovdiv Additional regional trains will be provided for the routes Plovdiv East - Svilengrad - Plovdiv East and Krumovo - Svilengrad - Krumovo For passengers of all trains with a travel route from and to Krumovo transportation by buses will be provided in the section between Krumovo and Plovdiv stations The changes are in connection with the implementation of the next phase of the large-scale repair works for the modernization of the railway contact network and telecommunication systems at the Plovdiv Railway Station we talk about family values and the family as the lifeboat on which a person survives in the maelstrom of world events And the day becomes even more festive when we meet people like Radina Velcheva whose work has helped hundreds of people receive the greatest gift in life - the birth of a child in the family Radina started her professional career as a journalist and radio host in the BNR in the mid-1990s The power of reaching thousands of people with her message through the airwaves of public media convinced her that speaking out is worthwhile as long as you have a meaningful cause that people can recognize as their own Step by step the idea of creating a foundation based on the principle "by the people the legal decision to register a foundation with the name "Iskam bebe" (I Want a Baby) came true At that moment Radina Velcheva did not even imagine the huge positive energy that her cause would bring to society "Back then it was known that nearly 170,000 couples in Bulgaria struggle with infertility and the true number was perhaps even larger," Radina Velcheva recalls Five years after establishing the foundation "Iskam bebe" already had one of the most powerful volunteer teams of motivated energetic people who strongly believe in the cause More than 2,500 babies were born in a period of 3 years and the good news about more and more Bulgarians being born thanks to the help of the foundation became an invariable part of Radina’s daily life and all the volunteers as "I Want a Baby" has been among the most recognizable and respected foundations in Bulgaria for 16 years "I have been asked many times how a non-governmental organization manages to maintain such a large capacity for many years We do everything in our free time and during the rest of the time all of us work to be independent and useful to the cause," Radina Velcheva says in an interview with Radio Bulgaria "Thousands of children were born thanks to ‘I Want a Baby’ our income has come from both large corporate donors and ordinary people who donate small sums to the foundation with each salary which means thousands of levs over the years these are people who did not have the means to proceed with an infertility treatment procedure and were waiting for help from somewhere they started making their small monthly donations to the foundation so that they could make it possible for the good news to reach others.” patients with reproductive problems talk confidently and freely about their difficult path as well as large corporate donors support them and the first to lend a helping hand to the foundation were the musicians of the men's brass band ‘Kostadin Manov’ at the community center Prosveta in Svilengrad" Bulgaria’s Transport Ministry has unveiled plans to construct two “Rolling Highway” or “Ro-La” terminals a combined system allowing the transport of trucks by rail The first such Rolling Highway terminal will be constructed at the train station at the town of Dragoman in Western Bulgaria which is located between Sofia and the Serbian border on the major European Transport Corridor No Bulgaria’s Transport Minister Alexander Tsvetkov is going to break the ground for the construction of the Ro-La terminal on July 6 The infrastructure project will cost BGN 6 M which are provided by National Company “Railway Infrastructure” and will be carried out by another state company A second Bulgarian Rolling Highway terminal is planned to be constructed at the train station of the town of Svilengrad in the southeast near the Turkish border Rolling highway is a term originating from the German designation "Rollende Autobahn" also known as "Rollende Landstrasse"/"rolling country road" or abbreviated "RoLa" It is said to have a number of economic and environmental advantages shared a heartbreaking post on his Facebook describing the tragic loss of his daughter who was killed in a severe accident near the Bulgarian village of Telish on Monday a private railway company affiliated with the bus carrier "Union Ivkoni" has officially received a license to operate rail passenger transport in Bulgaria A serious road accident near Vidin claimed the lives of four people and left seven others injured A tragic incident occurred in Sofia on Wednesday morning when a woman was struck by a truck and died instantly Two people were injured in a collision between a bus and a truck on the Hemus Highway near the Vitinya Tunnel this morning Bulgaria's Supreme Court of Cassation has upheld a six-year prison sentence for Valentin V The over-indebted Railway Company of Bulgaria (BDJ) is also a victim of systematic fuel theft carried out by the employees themselves said the director of the Freight Transport Unit "The investigation of fuel theft is ongoing across the country Railway employees should be aware that they cannot continue to steal The goal is to reduce expenses," said the director at a press conference in Sofia An unannounced investigation began on Wednesday evening and immediately 58 liters of diesel fuel were found in Dupnica investigators broke up a gang for reselling diesel on the Bulgarian-Turkish border They found 90 liters of diesel in canisters and equipment for pumping fuel from locomotives in the premises of BDJ for staff in Svilengrad is most common on the railways on Bulgaria's border with Turkey and Greece The suspected number one smuggler - Nikola Nikolov - Pascal will be declared a national wanted man The charge against him was brought in absentia the role of father and son Marin and Stefan Dimitrovi was that of mediators between Pascal and customs chiefs the prosecutor's office will request the determination of a permanent measure of "detention in custody" for the head of the "Customs" Agency Petya Bankova the Sofia City Court approved all 30 protocols from the searches in the "Customs" Agency Nikola Nikolov - Pascal is called the "king of cigarettes" It is said to hold the largest channel for the trafficking of tobacco products There are data that the amount of cigarettes passed through this channel in the last 3 years has increased several times "Smuggled cigarettes in Bulgaria are currently at a very low level It is very possible that something we are missing is that these smuggled cigarettes were transiting through Bulgaria this is the exploitation of a mythological figure from the past in order to make some kind of visual scheme to convince the public that there is something else behind these arrests," said Iovo Nikolov he started working as a customs officer in Svilengrad but his workplace was the "Captain Andreevo" border crossing There are claims that he then became an associate of "State Security" and has mastered the ins and outs of state-controlled smuggling he left customs and then began his development in the smuggling business first as a partner of Ivan Todorov - Doctor "I wrote about this man in 1998 - 25 years ago "His name appeared 10 years ago again as the leader of a channel for the trafficking of contraband cigarettes," comments Yovo Nikolov They say that Nikola Nikolov learned something else from his old services - how not to attract attention and this distinguished him from Ivan Todorov - the Doctor with whom they had parted ways in business back in 2001 The strength of Ivan Todorov - Doctor was precisely in the transit smuggling of cigarettes abroad I think Pascal was a more local player," said Yovo Nikolov for the last more than 15 years Nikola Nikolov - Pascal has been living near Kavala in Greece It is even claimed that he lived for a long time in a lorry converted into a caravan on the coast of the White Sea he returned to our country and even registered his only company in Bulgaria "H-6" Ltd. but with an impressive capital of 100 thousand BGN for the native practice he rented an entire floor of a large metropolitan hotel next to Borisova Garden he unexpectedly closed the office and left the country again More news from Bulgaria wanted by the authorities in our country and suspected of being the number 1 smuggler left the country with a caravan as early as March 29 Pascal was an associate of the National Security Service which was part of the Ministry of Internal Affairs until 2008 he transformed and entered the National Security Service which is now investigating the affair in the "Customs" Agency where a BNT team discovered the caravan he was using in the yard of a hotel on the seashore "He is probably the only one who remained alive from the beginning of the transition and still continues to carry out this smuggling sometimes at a small pace and with larger ones," Few of those who have investigated smuggling channels over the years agree to talk about Nikola Nikolov - Pascal all claim that the alleged smuggler number 1 still manages to survive and all say that since the late 1990s he has been living mostly in Greece which is claimed to be owned by him through impersonators But apparently it is quite difficult to manage to settle and sleep in the hotel because it is closed and its entrance is blocked by a container the offers for this hotel have been removed from all booking sites A room cannot be reserved even for the traditional May holidays in this part of the Aegean but a hooded security guard guards the building The last address at which Nikola Nikolov was registered in Bulgaria was in Haskovo when they seized three cartons of cigarettes and one carton of chicken legs from his smuggling channel there was a head of RDVR Haskovo who really wanted to have a regime officer in customs This is a police officer who is in the Customs When the time came for the development of the canal and the cigarette trucks were caught And he turned out to be a person from State Security," said Georgi Shishkov the story of the alleged number one smuggler Nikola Nikolov - Pascal passes through Dimitrovgrad It turns out that Nikolov was recruited into State Security while still in the barracks and immediately after that was assigned to the "Captain Andreevo" border post There he worked on the captagon channel in the mid-1980s he went undercover and was transferred as a truck driver and thus mastered the entire channel from Bulgaria through Turkey to the Middle East there he got the contacts and understood what it was about they trained him and they are starting to raise him in the hierarchy Activity with Greek political emigrants is starting," explained Georgi Shishkov Not a small part of the Greek communists immigrated to Bulgaria. It was the contacts with the Greek communists that proved to be key for Pascal in the early 1990s "They begin to organize the transfer of illegal goods And mostly they focus on the cigarette market the first company is between Pascal and an elderly Greek citizen in Orestiada A relative of this Greek citizen in Thessaloniki opened a representative office in the Thessaloniki duty-free zone and began transporting cigarettes from Cyprus where they transshipped and entered Bulgaria," explained Georgi Shishkov there was an operation against Pascal's channel in which it turned out that Ercan Rashid - Rocco was also involved Three trucks with cigarettes were detained but they disappeared from a customs warehouse And the entire pre-trial proceedings ended up in the trunk of another detained at the beginning of April - Marin Dimitrov - Iarata Dimitrov headed the Fisheries and Aquaculture Agency he was illegally transporting gold jewelry © Photo: personal archive of Gerassim Dishliev and Romania have formally joined the project "Via Carpathia" for creating the shortest transit route from the Baltic to Southeast Europe Bulgaria's Deputy Transport Minister Kamen Kichev signed Friday Declaration "Via Carpathia" for the transport route connecting the Baltic states and Poland The aim of the declaration is including the Via Carpathia route in the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) an EU-sponsored network of transport routes in order to stimulate the economic development of the eastern parts of the EU The Via Carpathia route on Bulgarian territory runs from the Vidin port on the Danube to Kulata on the Greek border via Sofia; it coincides with a section of the Pan-European Transport Corridor No and the Danube 2 bridge connecting Vidin and Romania's Calafat is part of it The bridge should enter into operation some time in 2011-2012 two deviations from the Baltic to the Aegean route were included in Via Carpathia – to the Romanian port of Constanta on the Black Sea and from Sofia to Istanbul via Svilengrad on the Turkish border and to the TRACECA route to the Bulgarian Black Sea ports The extension from Sofia to Svilengrad actually covers entirely Corridor No 4 on Bulgarian territory which runs from Central Europe to Istanbul and Thessaloniki it is a nice thing that Danube Bridge 2 between Bulgaria and Romania will be completed after all have been declared to be of "national significance" by the Bulgarian government Bulgaria will build a super-fast railroad highway to connect the capital Sofia with the western city of Vidin and the new Danube Bridge there Greece's Aegean Port Thessaloniki has announced a campaign to lure more Bulgarian businesses to use its services opened Monday its rehabilitated bulk cargoes terminal Bulgarian Foreign Minister Georg Georgiev held a phone conversation with U.S Secretary of State Marco Rubio on April 29 Bulgaria’s Ambassador to the United States has formally submitted a request to terminate his mandate ahead of schedule and is expected to return to Bulgaria by the end of the month The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Bulgaria’s Ministry of the Interior on April 22 The South African Embassy in Sofia has officially discontinued its consular services as of March 17 The Fourth Antalya Diplomacy Forum (ADF2025) will be held under the auspices of H.E Bulgaria’s first F-16 landed on Tuesday afternoon at the Third Fighter Air Base at Graf Ignatievo Subscribe to newsletters to receive our hottest offers: Foreign Minister Georg Georgiev has left for Washington where he will participate in the Munich Leaders Meeting (May 5-7 The forum is organised by the Munich Security Conference The foundation Unity- Kočani has sent an open letter to key Bulgarian institutions expressing gratitude for the support and humanitarian assistance provided by Bulgaria after the tragedy of the fire at a nightclub in Kočani The foreign ministers of Bulgaria and Greece Georg Georgiev and Giorgos Gerapetritis signed a joint declaration on the use of the waters of the river Arda on 2 May the BNR reports citing an announcement published by the Greek Foreign Ministry.. people will be able to withdraw money  from ATMs only in the new currency according to the website of the Bulgarian. helicopters of the Bulgarian Air Force will fly at low altitude over Sofia in preparation for a military parade marking the Day. Funding has been secured for the European programs “Care at Home” and “Hot Meal”