Temenuzhka Petkova

President (2002-2012) Georgi Parvanov, who was reelected Sunday as Chair of his ABV party, has insisted that Bulgaria's cabinet should undergo certain changes

The energy ministers of Bulgaria and Romania, Temenuzhka Petkova and Andrei Gerea, and the foreign ministers of the two countries, Daniel Mitov and Bogdan Aurescu, have signed a joint declaration on regional energy cooperation.

The governments of Bulgaria and Romania are due to sit together on Friday in the southwestern Romanian town of Craiova, officials have said.

After the joint session Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov is set to meet his Romanian counterpart Victor Ponta and then the Serbian head of government, Aleksandar Vucic.

Construction of the gas interconnection grid between Bulgaria and Greece will begin in March 2016 and will be completed by the end of 2018, Bulgaria's Energy Minister has said.

Under initial plans, the infrastructure was to be in place and become operational sometime in 2018.

Bulgaria is to host on Wednesday a trilateral working meeting on the construction of a vertical gas corridor with Romania and Greece.

Both the high-level and expert working groups on the vertical gas corridor will hold their first meetings on Wednesday, daily Dnevnik reports.

Electricity generated for exports and for the domestic market should be equally levied with the "liabilities to society" tax, Bulgarian Energy Minister Temenuzhka Petkova has said.

Bulgaria's National Electric Company (NEK) has signed agreements with US-owned thermal power plants AES Maritza East 1 and ContourGlobal Maritsa East 3 TPP under which it will pay BGN 1 B less to the TPPs over the next 10 years.

President Rosen Plevneliev told Montenegro's Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic that the Euro-Atlantic integration of the Western Balkans was a foreign policy priority issue for Bulgaria.

Bulgaria and Montenegro will boost cooperation in the field of culture by signing an intergovernmental agreement during the forthcoming meeting of delegations from the two states.

Bulgarian Minister Boyko Borisov will meet his Montenegrin counterpart Milo Dukanovic, who will be on an official visit to Sofia on March 27, the government's press service reports.

The agreement between Bulgarian government and the US-based company Westinghouse regarding the construction of a seventh block to the Kozlodui nuclear power plant will be reviewed.

The statement was made by Energy Minister Temenuzhka Petkova Thursday.