site.btaTransport Minister: Better Transport Infrastructure Is Needed to Achieve Security

Minister of Transport and Communications Grozdan Karadjov, who spoke at the international conference "A new era of European transport – challenges of the TEN-T policy" in Lodz, Poland, on Thursday, said that the motto of Poland's EU Council Presidency "Security, Europe!" is a call for more protection of people and borders, the Ministry of Transport press service reported. Karadjov said that more security means a strong army and police, but also more freedom for the economy. Better transport infrastructure is needed to achieve these goals, especially for countries like Bulgaria, which are an external border for the Union.

Among the participants at the forum are transport and infrastructure ministers, representatives of the European Commission, and NGOs.

According to the Minister, Europe should plan more funds for transport development, since increasing support for mobility is crucial to achieving economic growth, logistical efficiency and climate goals. He added that significant investment is needed in rail, public transport and alternative fuels, while smart mobility and intelligent traffic systems also require increased funding.

In his address, he pointed out that many regions, especially in Central and Eastern Europe, still need better transport infrastructure to meet EU standards. "The European Commission must therefore continue to focus on this matter, both from a budgetary point of view and as support for enhanced transport integration in the Black Sea region and the Western Balkans. The war in Ukraine has shifted priorities, highlighting the need for secure and sustainable transport corridors, especially for energy and military mobility," the Minister said.

The support of Bulgaria's European partners for the continuation of the projects on the International North–South Transport Corridor was on the agenda during Karadjov's bilateral meetings with his counterparts from Greece, Poland, Finland, Cyprus, and Lithuania. Speaking to the representative of Poland as the country holding the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, Karadjov shared: "There is no more difficult topic for me than the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, because many of the procedures and reforms in the last 3 years have been fatally delayed, and the reforms are not ready at all." Karadjov and the Polish Minister of Infrastructure Dariusz Klimczak shared a common view that the European Commission should demonstrate better flexibility when it comes to implanting projects under the Recovery and Resilience Plan.