The National Assembly approved on second reading amendments to the Technical Requirements for Products Act (TRPA), which will optimise the activities of the administrative services provided by the State Agency for Metrological and Technical Surveillance.

According to the provisions of the Act, the technical surveillance of high-risk facilities shall be carried out by the Chairman of the SAMTS and by persons or structurally separate parts of enterprises or organizations licensed by the Chairman of the SAMTS. With the adopted texts, the technical surveillance bodies of the SAMTS will certify compliance with the technical requirements of the design and construction documentation for the manufacture of high-risk equipment, the investment projects of the construction works in which high-risk equipment will operate, in their part relating to these facilities, as well as the technical documentation for the repair of the equipment within certain deadlines.

Two weeks is the period for certification of projects on sites where will operate up to two high-risk facilities, while for sites where there will be three to five high-risk sites, the period for certification is 21 days. SAMTS will rule within 21 days on projects of compressor stations, and within 28 days on projects of sites in which will operate more than five high-risk facilities. 30 days is the deadline for projects of an energy or heating boiler in a thermal power plant, as well as for projects of a cableway installation.

The Parliament voted with amendments in the Law on Maritime Areas, Inland Waterways and Ports of the Republic of Bulgaria adopted at first reading to abolish the division of ports for public transport into ports of national and regional importance. The Council of Ministers was the proposer of the amendments.

The main objective is to facilitate market access for port services and the introduction of financial transparency and autonomy for seaports from the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T), which will improve the quality and efficiency of services provided to port users and contribute to creating more favourable conditions for investment.

The amendments voted abolish the classification of port services according to the technology and work organisation necessary for their implementation to services, for whose implementation it is necessary to use port territory and/or facilities and services, for which this is not necessary. This approach will make it possible to unify and simplify the procedure for accessing port services.