President Rosen Plevneliev today conferred the Order of Saints Cyril and Methodius first degree on Vasil Lyaze, Chairman of the Board of the Foundation of the Orthodox Church of the Bulgarian Exarchate, and Dimitar Atanasov, a member of the Board of the Foundation, for their great contribution to the preservation of Bulgarian cultural and spiritual heritage in Turkey.
“This public recognition is an expression of appreciation and high evaluation of your long hard work to defend the interests of Constantinople Bulgarians,” President Plevneliev said at the ceremony. He said that Tsarigrad Bulgarians have preserved moments of Bulgarian history and the spiritual awareness of the Bulgarian nation by maintaining the Bulgarian church property. “They are not only of material value, but also are monuments of our national revival in the struggle for religious and political independence and an island of Bulgarianness,” the President said.
The construction of Trakia highway is proof of the professionalism and potential that can change Bulgaria, President Plevneliev said
01-07-2012 12:54
President Rosen Plevneliev, Prime Minister Boyko Borisov and EU Regional Development Commissioner Johannes Hahn today opened the Stara Zagora to Nova Zagora stretch of the Trakia highway. The section is 31.8km long and its construction was funded with nearly 138 million leva from the Transport Operational Programme.
Highway construction is a very legitimate national priority, President Rosen Plevneliev said. He said that Trakia highway was the largest infrastructure project in Bulgaria. In less than three years, 117km of highway has been built, and the implementation of the object is proof of the professionalism and potential that can change Bulgaria, President Plevneliev said. The President said that Bulgaria has significantly improved the mechanisms and procedures in the absorption of EU funds for infrastructure and already there are visible results.
According to European Commissioner for Regional Development Johannes Hahn, one of the reasons for Bulgaria to join the European Union was that ideas and initiatives should not remain only on paper but should be implemented effectively and within deadlines and budget. Commissioner Hahn said that an example was the construction of Trakia highway and the European Commission would continue to be a partner to Bulgarian institutions in the implementation of major infrastructure projects.
Later, at Katunitsa station, President Rosen Plevneliev attended the opening ceremony of the Plovdiv-Dimitrovgrad stretch of railway. The stretch is part of the project “Reconstruction and electrification of the Plovdiv-Svilengrade-Turkish/Greek border railway line and optimisation of the speed to 160km/h”. “Modern infrastructure and working institutions are the basis of success of Bulgaria,” the President said during the ceremony, which was attended by Prime Minister Boyko Borisov, Commissioner Hahn and cabinet ministers. President Plevneliev expressed his gratitude for the solidarity and partnership of the European Commission in the implementation of major infrastructure projects in the country. In just three years, 92 per cent has been contracted and 30 per cent of the funds used. This means that Bulgaria has accelerated the absorption of EU funds by 60 times, President Plevneliev said.