All the commitments I made to the road transport industry will be fulfilled. This was stated by the Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications Hristo Alexiev.
"Since the beginning of the mandate of the caretaker government, together with colleagues from other Ministries and branch organizations engaged in the bus, freight and taxi transport operations, we have elaborated urgent measures to support the road transport sector in several areas," Minister Hristo Alexiev said. He announced that up to BGN 40 million aid will be granted to bus and coach carriers by the end of the year, for which Bulgaria received official approval from the European Commission yesterday. "It has been agreed that the alternative tax on taxi services will be reduced to the legal minimum threshold of BGN 300," the Transport Minister said.
"We managed to prepare the amendments to the Regulation on posting and specializations abroad as soon as possible. With these amendments we almost double the amount of the allowances for posted international drivers. For single riding the allowance will increase from EUR 27 to EUR 50, and for double riding – from EUR 21 to EUR 45. I thank Deputy Prime Minister Galab Donev for the quick and effective work on these amendments. The amount of the allowances was set in 2007 and has not been updated since then. "This is a small step, but it has a great effect on the entire transport industry," Alexiev explained.
"This will achieve adequate compensation for workers in the road transport sector. In recent years, the lack of drivers is palpable and we believe that this step is important for retaining and attracting professional drivers", Hristo Alexiev said.
The Minister noted that a request from Bulgaria to the Court of Justice of the European Union to suspend the implementation of part of the provisions of the Mobility I Package, in particular the provisions on the return of vehicles to the Member State of establishment, is to be submitted as soon as possible.