EU-Report Accession Bulgaria

Chapter 9: Transport policy

During the past year, Bulgaria has made further progress in aligning transport legislation with the acquis, notably in the road transport and the railway sectors, including through adoption of the necessary implementing legislation. The administrative bodies which implement and enforce the acquis have been restructured.

As regards Trans-European Transport Networks, a number of infrastructure projects are being implemented on corridors IV, VII and X, such as the modernisation of the E-79 road, the second Danube bridge, the electrification of major railway lines and the construction of a second terminal at Sofia airport. In October 2001, the Government updated the Programme for Transport Infrastructure Development (2001-2005). The total cost of projects in this programme is EUR 4.2 billion, of which the State budget will fund 31%.

In the land transport sector, progress was achieved in all areas. In the field of road transport, amendments to the Road Traffic Law and to the Road Transport Law were adopted. These provide the legal basis for alignment with the acquis, clear the way for establishment of the necessary institutions and prepare the ground for the forthcoming implementing legislation. Much of the social and technical acquis on tachographs, admission to the occupation, licensing requirements, driving times and rest periods, roadside inspections and transport of dangerous goods has now been transposed. Progress has also been made in the field of vehicle taxation. Revision of the road taxation system has started, following adoption in January 2002 of the Law on Local Taxes and Fees, and full alignment with the taxation level required by the acquis will be reached by the end of 2006. As regards roadside inspections, a new Executive Agency for Road Transport Administration replaces the former General Directorate of the Ministry. The agency has a staff of 523 in 27 regional offices.

On railways, Bulgaria has advanced in the process of aligning its legislation and has now already aligned its legislation with a substantial part of the revised railway acquis. The Law on railway transport entered into force in January 2002, abolishing the State monopoly on railway transportation. The functional separation of infrastructure management from rail transport operations of the Bulgarian Railways Company has been completed, which should stimulate the legal and economic restructuring of Bulgaria's railways, and particularly debt restructuring. The railway company BDZ was therefore split into two companies, one for infrastructure (the National ``Railway Infrastructure'' company) and the other the operator (BDZ plc). The law also created rules on access to railway infrastructure and on separating the income and expenditure accounts of railway enterprises, as well as on the introduction of user charges on railway infrastructure and a licensing regime for railway operators. Further legislative progress was recorded with the adoption in April 2002 of an important set of implementing legislation. Preferences for combined transport are envisaged in these amendments.

On inland waterway transport, there are no particular developments to report.

As regards air transport, Bulgaria is continuing to adopt implementing legislation for the Civil Aviation Act of 1999 and to create the conditions for competition and ``step-bystep'' market liberalisation upon accession. The unclear situation of the national carrier Balkan Airlines, currently awaiting a court ruling related to its liquidation or the choice of a new strategic investor, still affects the economics of this sector. Bulgaria has made significant efforts to improve the qualifications of the aviation administration personnel, in particular of inspectors.

As regards maritime transport, the delay in adoption of amendments to the Merchant Shipping Code has slowed further transposition of the acquis. These amendments should cover improved maritime safety and protection of the marine and river environment, as well as providing the framework for further implementing legislation.

Inspections of Bulgarian flag vessels as well as Port State control inspections are at present carried out by 42 qualified inspectors. According to 2001 statistics under the Paris Memorandum of Understanding, the percentage of Bulgarian flag vessels detained following Port State control was 15.7%. This is a sharp increase compared with 2000 (7.2%) and 1999 (8.1%), when improvement was recorded, bringing Bulgaria back to a level close to that of 1998 (19.7%). This compares with an average for EU-flagged vessels of 3.1% in 2001.

Overall assessment

As regards Trans-European Transport Networks, the Bulgarian authorities place the main emphasis on further modernisation and development of priority transport infrastructure along the TINA corridors. Special emphasis should be given to ensure the necessary administrative capacity (both in qualitative and quantitative aspects) to prepare for the significant investments that will be needed in rail and road infrastructure, in particular to ensure that Bulgarian roads can cope with EC vehicle axle-weight standards. This will entail upgrading 1200 km of Bulgarian roads. In view of the ambitious programme of infrastructure upgrading, the ability of the Bulgarian authorities to implement several projects simultaneously could be a matter of concern if administrative capacity is not reinforced appropriately. Co-financing for the ambitious EUR 4.2 billion programme of investment in the transport sector will need to be assured for the years 2003-2005. More attention should be given to ensuring that feasibility studies for construction work comply with EC environmental rules, notably the preparation of sound and complete Environmental Impact Assessments, a necessary condition for any Community funding for a construction project.

As regards road transport, Bulgaria has advanced in the area of harmonisation of vehicle taxation and road user charges. Further alignment through the adoption of implementing legislation will be necessary, in particular as regards the installation of tachographs, and in general the extension of rules to vehicles engaged in national transportation only. Administrative capacity should be strengthened further, in particular through specialised staff training for people in key supervisory and control functions relating to access to the profession, social rules (particularly driving times and rest periods), vehicle taxation and road user charges, as well as technical and safety standards. Moreover, Bulgaria should prepare operators for the major investments which they will need to make to ensure conformity of the road haulage fleets, particularly the part of the road haulage fleet which carries out national operations, with acquis requirements. Whereas the international transport fleet conforms to EC technical and safety norms, the domestic transport fleet is still far from meeting these requirements. Bulgaria still has to ratify the INTERBUS Agreement on the international occasional carriage of passengers by coach and bus.

In the railway sector, Bulgaria has also made good progress, not only in aligning its legislation with the acquis (including the latest railway acquis), but also in restructuring the railway company. All the institutions needed to implement the relevant acquis are in place. Attention should be paid now to implementing these changes, for instance, by ensuring the independence of the management of railway undertakings, by strengthening the railway administration, the implementation of an efficient and fair rail infrastructure charging scheme and the smooth implementation of the business plans for the two newlycreated companies, which are both confronted with difficult financial situations.

As regards air transport, the establishment of an independent body for investigation of civil aviation aircraft accidents is still pending. Bulgaria needs to continue legislative alignment with the acquis in the sector and to continue with the gradual implementation of the Joint Aviation Requirements.

In the field of maritime transport, despite an obvious commitment to maritime safety, the safety record of the Bulgarian fleet remains a cause for concern. Bulgarian vessel detention rates as a result of Port State control are deteriorating, accentuating the gap compared with the average for EU-flagged vessels. This has placed the Bulgarian Flag back on the black list of the Secretariat of the Paris Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control. Bulgaria is aware that it needs to continue strengthening its Flag State implementation policy and resources. Improving the performance of maritime safety administrative institutions, firstly as a Flag State, and then as a Port State, must be a priority. Increased co-ordination between the different levels of the relevant authorities is necessary. Alignment with EC legislation on maritime safety and prevention of pollution, as foreseen in the delayed amendments to the Merchant Shipping Code, must also be a priority. Implementing legislation on the Maritime Safety Law needs to be adopted.

Conclusion

In its 1997 Opinion, the Commission concluded that Bulgaria had made progress with implementing the existing Community legislation on transport, but that rapid alignment was necessary and that in this respect, maritime, air and road freight sectors posed the most potential problems, particularly on safety. In other sectors, particularly rail, implementation of the existing Community legislation in practice still had to be monitored. Bulgaria also needed to make sure that the resources necessary to lay the foundation for extension of the future trans-European transport network to the acceding countries were provided, and rapidly to compensate for the current shortcomings in the road network and the consequences of implementation of the existing Community legislation on fleet renewal. The Commission added that it would also be necessary rapidly and systematically to reinforce Bulgaria's administrative structures, including the supervisory bodies, for example for safety.

Since the Opinion, Bulgaria has made steady overall progress, in particular in the fields of road and railway transport; some progress can also be recorded in the area of aviation, while only limited progress can be reported in the area of maritime safety. Bulgaria has also gradually started to reinforce its administrative structures.

Negotiations on this chapter continue.

Bulgaria should focus further efforts on investment, on the implementation of the fiscal and social/technical acquis in the road sector, on the further liberalisation of rail and road transport and on the transposition and implementation of the acquis in the aviation and maritime sector. Particular attention will need to be paid to improvement of the maritime safety record, and to further strengthening the maritime safety authorities and guaranteeing their independence. Further efforts will be needed on the reinforcement and strengthening of the newly-established administrative structures in order to ensure adequate administrative capacity for enforcement of the acquis and implementation of the investment plans.

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