CONVENTION ON LONG-RANGE TRANSBOUNDARY AIR POLLUTION
Working Group on Strategies and Review
Task Force on POPs
7th Meeting of the LRTAP Convention’s Task Force on Persistent Organic Pollutants (TFPOPs), 2nd–5th of June 2009, Plovdiv, BULGARIA
Dear colleagues,
It is our pleasure to invite you to take part in the 7th TF POPs meeting which will take place in Plovdiv, Bulgaria - beautiful city with long history which is located 147 km east of the capital Sofia.
Please, find below the Information Note with practical information concerning travelling to and from Plovdiv, accommodation of the participants, and also other useful information.
See you in Plovdiv!
Ivan Angelov,
Head of Global Atmospheric Processes Dept
Air Protection Directorate
Ministry of Environment and Water
INFORMATION NOTE
I. VENUE
The seventh meeting of the Task Force on POPs (of the UNECE Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution) will be held in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, from Tuesday 2nd June at 1 p.m. until Friday 5th of June 2009 noon. The meeting takes place at the following venue:
**** Sankt Petersburg Hotel
97 Bulgaria Blvd.
Plovdiv, BULGARIA
e-mail:
http://www.sphotel.net
II. REGISTRATION
Please return the duly filled in registration form to Mrs. Irina Sirashka () by 15 May 2009 at the latest.
III. TRANSPORTATION
Hotel Sankt Petersburg has a contract with a transportation company - “Stoytchev and son”. The transfer from Sofia Airport to Hotel Sankt Petersburg in Plovdiv could be made using the services of this company. The distance Sofia – Plovdiv is 147 km.
Email:
Website: www.stoychev-son.com
Meeting participants are requested to contact the transportation company via email () providing the company with their travel details and arriving and departing time to/from Sofia. Please, indicate in your email to the transportation company which meeting you are going to attend in Plovdiv - “7th TFPOP Meeting”. The transportation company will calculate the price for every participant and they will combine the participants according to their arriving/departing time.
Important note: All travel expenses have to be covered by the meeting participants.
Approx. prices for transfer Airport Sofia – Hotel Sankt Petersburg, Plovdiv*
By car (up to 2 persons) ~ 150 BGN (75 EUR)
By bus (up to 12 persons) ~ 288 BGN (144 EUR)
By bus (up to 8 persons) ~ 264 BGN (132 EUR)
* Prices include VAT; they are in one direction, not by person but for the whole vehicle. The price by person will depend on their number in the car/bus. I.e. if 12 persons travel with a bus the price will be 12 EUR, but if 2 persons travel with a car, the price will be 37.5 EUR.
III. HOTEL ACCOMMODATION
All participants are advised to stay at the hotel where the venue will be held:
**** Sankt Petersburg Hotel
97 Bulgaria Blvd.
Plovdiv, BULGARIA
e-mail:
http://www.sphotel.net
The rates are preferential for TFPOP Meeting:
Studio
/Queen size bed 2/2m/ / 1 person / 45 €2 persons / 65 €
Double studio
/ 65 €Single room / 33 €
Apartment / 75 €
Important note: Hotel reservations should be made by the meeting participants themselves directly to the hotel on the following email: . Participants are advised to mention in their emails to the hotel that they are participants in the 7th TFPOP Meeting and there is a block reservation made by the Bulgarian Ministry of Environment and Water.
Preferential prices for meeting participants are valid if the reservations are made by
15 May 2009.
IV. LUNCH/DINNER
Participants have the possibility to order in advance their meals (lunch and/or dinner) during the meeting week. In this case, the cost of the meals would be added to the participants’ hotel bill. Different lunch/dinner menus, including vegetarian, are available (See the annex to the registration form for more details).
In order for the organizers to make a block reservation for lunches and/or dinners, participants need to indicate their preferences in advance (at least for the lunches on 02.06.2009 and 03.06.2009). Kindly fill in the registration form with the requested information by 15 May.
The Bulgarian Ministry of Environment and Water will host the dinner on Tuesday 2nd of June 2009.
Note: The organisers need to know in advance (at least two days before the meeting) how many of the participants would like to have lunch on the first day and how many of them would prefer the vegetarian menu.
IV. VISA REQUIREMENTS
The participants will need a valid passport with an entry or transit visa which is issued by the embassies and consulates of the Republic of Bulgaria abroad. No entry visas are required for citizens of the countries with which Bulgaria has a visa-free regime, or of organized tourists who have bought a package tour. No entry visas are required for citizens of the EU and EFTA member states.
Some ЕECCA countries (i.e. Azerbaijan, Armenia, Ukraine etc.) will need an entry visa. For more information please visit the website of the Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs:
http://www.mfa.bg/en
Note: It is NOT POSSIBLE to get entry visa at the Sofia airport. Should you need a nominal invitation letter from the Bulgarian Ministry of Environment and Water for visa purposes, please contact as soon as possible Mrs. Irina Sirashka ( ).
V. FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE
The Dutch Ministry of the Environment has made available some funds to financially assist the participation of representatives from countries with economies in transition to the Plovdiv meeting. These funds will cover only the actual hotel and meal costs incurred (but not the travel costs) of one representative per country. To apply for the financial assistance please contact Maarten van het Bolscher (e-mail: ) before the meeting. If your request for financial support has been accepted, you may claim for reimbursement of your hotel and meal costs against invoices after the meeting.
VI. EXCHANGE RATES
The Bulgarian Lev (BGN) is the national currency in Bulgaria. As of March 2009 the current exchange rate is:
1 US $ = 1.53 BGN
1 € = 1.95583 BGN /the rate is fixed/
VII. FURTHER INFORMATION
The meeting will be held in English only.
Documentation for the meeting will be posted on the website of the Task Force (http://www.unece.org/env/lrtap/TaskForce/popsxg/7thmeeting.htm)
For further information on the practical arrangements, please contact
Mrs. Irina Sirashka () and/or Mr. Ivan Angelov )
Further information on Plovdiv and Bulgaria may also be obtained from the following websites:
http://www.oldplovdiv.com/
http://www.mfa.bg/en/