Sofia

More than BGN 110 M, or EUR 55 M, of funding earmarked for Bulgaria under the 2014-2020 operational programs are to be set aside for Roma integration, a EU official has said.

"The money is available now, could be used outright and the work [done with it] has to be complex," according to EU Commission Vice President for Budget and Human Resources Kristalina Georgieva.

Five months prior to the local elections, the Sofia municipality of Krasno Selo decided to construct two mini football fields in the heart of the Roma neighborhood Fakulteta.

They will also be equipped with specialized watering systems and artificial turf, as per all FIFA requirements, LED lights and all necessary nets. Additionally, there will be 180 seats available for audience.

The first stage of the installment of the video-monitoring system in Sofia's neighborhood of Orlandovtsi started Wednesday.

The announcement was made by Sofia's Mayor Yordanka Fandakova in an interview for Focus radio station.

Trace Group Hold AD has signed a contract with the Sofia Municipality worth BGN 5 725 440 envisaging road maintenance services for 4 years in downtown Sofia.

Nearly a hundred people have gathered in the Orlandovtsi neighbourhood in the Bulgarian capital of Sofia on Tuesday evening to protest against the crimes committed by the Roma community.

According to latest media reports, the situation on the third day of protests in the neighbourhood remained calm and there were no tensions.

The Sofia-Varna train got stuck somewhere along the valley of the Iskar River on Tuesday afternoon.

The train reportedly crashed into an insulator from the electricity network. As a result the device fell upon the train, as stated by the Bulgarian National Railway service in an interview for NOVA television.

An airplane made an emergency landing at Bulgaria's Sofia Airport on Tuesday afternoon due to a broken window.

The Wizz Air airplane was conducting flight number W64363 from Sofia to Bologna with 173 passengers on board, daily Sega reports.

EU Regional Policy Commissioner Corina Cretu has expressed her appreciation for the work of Bulgarian authorities in view of the absorption rate of over 75% of EU funds for the 2007-2013 programming period.

Cretu shared her impressions after a Tuesday meeting with Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov in Sofia.

Bulgaria's state-owned gas company Bulgargaz reported a loss of BGN 15.195 M for the first quarter of 2015, according to the financial report of the company.

According to the report, published on the website of the Finance Ministry at the end of last week, the financial condition of Bulgargaz deteriorates substantially from the same period in 2014.

The Bulgarian Interior Ministry has revoked the information that police specialized teams have been sent urgently near Sofia's Novi Han.