While assessing the policy of perpetrating a real genocide over the potential and the activities of the institutes of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences – the national research institution that enjoys the highest national and international reputation – we must warn that following this ignominious budget one should only expect injuries to Bulgarian science and culture whose negative effects in all fields are difficult to evaluate.
 We do declare that we will undertake any and all possible actions to protect Bulgarian science’s present and future, which are to be approached with responsibility and in accordance with the relevant European standards while accounting for the obligations taken on a European level.
 We will not tolerate ruining Bulgarian science becoming irreversible and will alert the European scientific institutions concerning this consecutive severe financial restriction.
The Bulgarian Academy of Sciences will make its position public in a forthcoming press conference and through a series of protest actions.

The park will occupy a land lot owned of BAS in Gara Iskur District with area over 70 dca; its thematic profile will comprise photon, micro and nano technologies.
Partners in the company are BAS, Eurobul Innovation Holding, the Higher School on Library Studies and Information Technologies, Denima 2001 Ltd., the Federation of Scientific and Technical Unions in Bulgaria, and GIS – Transfer Center Foundation.
The project will be completed within 24 months, which will be followed by the actual establishment of the Park.

born on April 10, 194
Academician Matey Mateev was among the most distinguished Bulgarian physicists with particularly valuable scientific contributions and recognized international prestige in the theoretical and mathematical physics. Throughout the years, he has been the favored lecturer to all physics students and without interruption since 1980 has led one of the most attended lecture courses in the Faculty of Physics of St. Kliment Ohridski University of Sofia. He has supervised the scientific maturing of generations of physicists and has authored more than 100 scientific publications which hade been widely quoted and highly appreciated by leading world physicists.

The main activity of GIS-Transfer Center Foundation consists in the transfer of new technologies and new products from scientific research organizations to small and medium-size enterprises and vice versa. Due to the technological nature of the consultations, the implementation of the project started requires the availability of experts in technologically-oriented scientific research fields. The participation of ten business partners raises the quality of the contacts between the business and the scientific communities on both regional and national level.
The project’s main objective is performing consultations with small and medium-size enterprises in order to take their opinion into account in the process of creating and harmonizing common policies for the entire European Union. In order to achieve this objective, the projects sets the following specific goals:
• Consulting with 150 Bulgarian enterprises concerning pending European directives related to small and medium-size enterprises;
• Improving the communications between the small and medium-size enterprises, the partners in the Enterprise Europe Network  and the European Commission;
• Providing a feedback from the small and medium-size enterprises concerning the results of the consultations;
In the framework of the project, each of the ten Bulgarian partners will organize three panels in three specific fields. Each panel will include between five and ten companies from industrial branches affected by the respective new European legislation. Each of the participating companies will be acquainted with the changes envisaged and will fill out an evaluation questionnaire thus expressing its opinion. In order to clarify the specific problems, a workshop will be held for each of the three panels, where companies and experts will discuss the questionnaires and exchange opinions and experience in the respective field.
The first panel’s topic is: “A new legislative framework for releasing goods to the market: a proposal for synchronizing the harmonized directives for ten groups of products with Resolution 768/2008”.
Problems will be treated that have been detected in various industrial sectors falling within the scope of the “European Harmonized Technical Legislation”, i.e., the legislation placing common requirements to releasing goods to the market.
The new legislative framework (NLF) is a package of measures geared at improving the functioning of the internal goods market. It was adopted in July 2008 by the Council of the European Communities and the European Parliament. NLF consists of two complementary instruments, namely, Regulation 768/2008 for accreditation and market supervision, and Resolution 768/2008.
At present, it is envisaged that 10 directive should be brought in compliance with the Resolution. The SMEs participating in our panel cover the following directives:
Directive for Low-Voltage Equipment, Directive for Ordinary Vessels Under Pressure, Directive for Measuring Devices, Directive for Electromagnetic Compatibility.
The problems that make the NLF imposition necessary were discussed at the workshop organized by the GIS-Transfer Center Foundation and by the companies participating in the project. A significant number of products released to the market do not comply with the requirements laid down in the directives. Some companies use CE marking on their products without the products conforming to the CE labeling conditions. Some importers and distributors do not carry out the checks necessary to verify whether the respective products comply with the requirements. The notification bodies have difficulties monitoring all products on the market. Some of these bodies (mostly outside the EU) provoke rightful suspicion concerning their competence and the reliability of the certificates issued by them. The simultaneous application of several directives to the same product may create difficulties in implementing the procedure assessment of conformity.
The NLW and Resolution 768/2008 introduce obligations for importers and distributors; these will have to check the CE marking and the required documents. The products must bear the names of the manufacturer and the importer with contact details. Importers, distributors and manufacturers will be obliged to perform tests and on specimens of the products followed by monitoring. The manufacturers must provide instructions and safety information. Furthermore, the requirements to the notification bodies will be increased and the modules in the directives will be synchronized with the standard modules.
The SMEs were active in completing the necessary documents. During the individual discussions with each participant, problems were raised that are of considerable importance for the business community and the Bulgarian legislation. The companies expect that their recommendations, requests and proposals will be taken into account in the new legislative framework that is in process of being developed by experts in the European Union.

The visitors described their cooperation with Bulgarian scientists in the field of Earth Sciences, which had resulted in the establishment in 1997 of the National Coordination Center for Climatic Changes at the BAS Board. The question was raised during the meeting of how the National Coordination Center could assist the work in the new research fields not only in what concerns the climatic changes, but also on related ecological, biomedical and social problems, as well as problems having to do with renewable energy sources. Prof. Knight and Dr. Marieta Staneva will be the main invited lecturers at the conference organized by the former Institute of Geography of BAS and scheduled to take place in October.

Academician Sabotinov acquainted H.E. Mr. Stavros Amvrosiou with the Academy’s activities, with the results of the international evaluation of the Academy, as well as with the reforms taking place in theAcademy. Special attention was paid to the Center for Training of doctoral students, since a large number of young Cypriots are interested in acquiring scientific degrees in Bulgaria in the fields of culture and medicine.

The Competitiveness Operational Program was described, together with the opportunities it offers concerning science and innovations and their interrelations with the business community. Special emphasis was placed on the so-called mediating and pro-innovative structures: offices for technological transfer, starting innovative enterprises, technological centers, clusters, high-technology business incubators, technological parks.
At present, offices or departments for technological transfer are functioning in several BAS permanent research units. A starting innovative enterprise has been registered at the Institute of Mechanics, several such enterprises are in the process of registration. BAS participates in several clusters, the most recent one being that in the field of electromobiles, as well as in the preparation for the establishment of technological parks in Sofia, Pomorie and Plovdiv on the basis of the regional academic centers.

The European Commission published 51 new calls under the 7th Framework Program of the European Union: http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/dc/index.cfm

 
At 14.00 on July 26, 2010, in the Large Hall of BAS Central Administration building, a National Information Day will be held presenting to present the forthcoming in year 2011 call “Environment (including climate changes)” under the 7th Framework Program of EU
 (http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/dc/index.cfm?fuseaction=UserSite.FP7CallsPage#Environment)
 
The call is of interdisciplinary nature. Invited to participate are researchers working in the fields of: biodiversity; bio-resources and ecology; climatic changes, risks and natural resources; bio-medicine and quality of life; nano-sciences; space research and technologies; cultural-historical heritage and national identity; energy resources and energy efficiency; information and communication sciences and technologies.
 
The Information Day program and registration form can be found here.
 
To confirm your participation, please, send a completed registration form to mateeva@cu.bas.bg

The new Statutes were adopted following a three-month long work on their preparation and discussion. The major ideas on which the changes are based have to do with introducing mandates for the electable governing bodies in view of ensuring continuity in the scientific development; strengthening the relations with the Bulgarian society by way of forming Advisory Scientific Councils which will include Bulgarian and foreign scientists from the specific scientific field, representatives of governmental and state institutions and of the business community; creating conditions for rejuvenating the scientific staff by introducing age limitations in occupying elected positions.