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Further capital of 16 million leva had been made available for Bulgaria’s railway infrastructure, Transport and Communications Minister Petar Moutafchiev said, as quoted by Focus news agency.

Moutafchiev said that the reforms and the measures introduced to Bulgaria’s railway had proved ineffective. Nearly two-thirds of the railways in the country were in bad condition, Moutafchiev said. The poor state of the infrastructure had led to a number of railway accidents in the past few months.

Eighteen million leva had been invested in repairing passenger coaches, Moutafchiev said, as quoted by Focus.

Another programme to repair cargo carriages, worth 41 million leva, would also be launched, he said.

Bulgaria railways’ main priority in the next few years was to speed up transportation, Moutafchiev said.

Bulgaria’s ambition was to utilise the EU funds better than the countries that entered the EU in 2004, Finance Minister Plamen Oresharski said, as quoted by Bulgarian news agency BTA.

Bulgaria had to learn from the mistakes of the others, he said.

Bulgarian Industrial Association (BIA) chairman Bozhidar Danev said that the average rate of EU funds utilised by the new EU members was, on average, less than 40 per cent of what they received.

Oresharski also said that the Government would provide 15 per cent co-financing from the state budget in the first three years of Bulgaria’s EU membership.

Bulgaria negotiated with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) for the creation of joint fund for financing project under the EU cohesion and structural funds, he said, as quoted by BTA.

Bulgaria will also receive 700 million euro a year from the European Investment Bank.

Austrian company AVN has offered 32.1 million euro for 100 per cent of the Plovdiv heating company Toplofikatsia Plovdiv, Darik Radio reported.

It was the highest price offered in the tender. The other participant in the tender was France’s Dalkia International, which offered 25 million euro, Darik said.

If EVN’s documents were in order, the company would be the next owner of Toplofikatsia Plovdiv.

EVN already owns the electricity companies in Plovdiv and Stara Zagora.

Bulgaria’s Privatisation Agency would announce the name of the winner in the tender within a week, Darik said.

Buying Toploficatsia Plovdiv would make EVN a monopoly within the energy market in the region, Darik said.

Bulgaria was ready to be EU’s external economic border, Bourgas customs director Dimcho Kiryazov said, as quoted by Bulgarian news agency BTA.

Bulgaria’s customs legislation was “completely synchronised” with Europe’s, he said.

Bourgas customs would be the only air, water and land customs office in Bulgaria to be at EU boundaries when Bulgaria enters the union, BTA said.

Kiryazov also said that success of Bulgarian custom officers in the fight against drug dealing and smuggling proved that Bulgaria was ready to meet the challenge.

The Bourgas customs directorate brought more than 1.3 billion leva to the state budget in 2006, BTA said.

Head of the European Commission (EC) delegation to Bulgaria Dimitris Korkoulas said that he was convinced Bulgaria’s EU membership would be useful for the union.

Bulgaria would turn into a model for the other Southeast European countries, Kourkoulas said as quoted by Focus news agency.

Bulgaria’s experience and relations with its neighbouring countries would strengthen EU’s policy in the region, he said.

Kourkoulas also said that Bulgaria’s EU entry would have long-term geopolitical effect.

Bulgaria’s President Georgi Purvanov presented Kourkoulas with Stara Plania First Order Medal, the highest order in Bulgaria, Focus said.