site.bta Bulgarian Road Hauliers Agree to Lift Counter-Blockade at Border with Greece, All Waiting Vehicles Cross Border

Bulgarian Road Hauliers Agree to Lift Counter-Blockade at Border with Greece, All Waiting  Vehicles Cross Border

Sofia, February 10 (BTA) - Transport, IT and Communications Minister Ivailo Moskovski has reached an agreement with the Bulgarian road hauliers to lift the blockade at the Kulata border checkpoint to Greece, Moskovski's Ministry said in a press release on Tuesday. Bulgarian truck drivers blocked the approach to the border with Greece as a counter-measure against the blockade by protesting Greek farmers which has had Bulgarian trucks stranded at the border for days on end.
 
Following this, an agreement was reached that the border crossing remain open until all waiting vehicles cross the border, after which it will be closed again leaving only an open window of several hours from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily.

Moskovski informed the road hauliers that he had spoken with the Greek authorities who assured him that the Bulgarian drivers will not be blocked on Greek territory and that passage from Kulata to the Igoumenitsa ferry facility will be uninterrupted.

On Wednesday morning the Bulgarian Interior Ministry said that there are no lines of waiting trucks on the Bulgarian side of the Kulata border crossing.

The Kapitan Petko Voivoida border checkpoint is closed to all traffic from 12 in the morning to 8 in the evening due to the protests of the Greek farmers.

The Ilinden checkpoint is closed from 10 in the morning to 3 in the afternoon and from 5 in the afternoon to 10 in the evening. During the open windows only cars and buses will be allowed across the border.

The Ivaylovgrad checkpoint has been closed from 9 in the morning. 
 
For about three weeks now, the Kulata checkpoint and two other crossings on Greece's border with Bulgaria have been blocked and unblocked at unpredictable times by Greek farmers protesting against pension reforms that will increase dramatically their social security contributions.