site.btaOrganization Urges Government to Establish Logistics Centre to Help Truck Drivers Stranded at Bulgarian-Greek Border

Organization Urges Government to Establish Logistics Centre to Help Truck Drivers Stranded at Bulgarian-Greek Border

Sofia, February 8 (BTA) - Bulgaria's Union for Private Economic Enterprise (UPEE) has proposed the establishment of a logistics centre at the Transport Ministry which can immediately suggest alternative routes to the thousands of truck drivers blocked at the Bulgarian-Greek border by protesting Greek farmers. The proposal was submitted to Transport Minister Ivaylo Moskovski on Monday, UPEE President Miroslav Naidenov told a BTA-hosted news conference.

Naidenov noted that the new routes will prolong the trucks' trips by an average of 1,000 km and their daily expenses will rise by 350 euro per vehicle. If the blockade goes on for another 10 days, it will cost about 3.5 million leva in such additional expenses, he estimated.

According to him, the Bulgarian government should reimburse hauliers for these expenses, and then it should seek reimbursement from the European Commission. This kind of practice exists in the EU and involves the use of solidarity funds, Naidenov said.

"I do not accept the Foreign Ministry's contention that everything possible has been done to address the problem," he said. He urged Foreign Minister Daniel Mitov to ask for an urgent meeting of the EU Council. "The European Commission must be called upon to start an infringement procedure against Greece for violating the fundamental principle of free movement of goods and people and to warn Greece that it may face a very large financial penalty," Naidenov appealed.

He expects the UPEE to re-join the National Council on Tripartite Cooperation because it meets all requirements for that. He vowed to try to turn the UPEE into an "ombudsman" for small, medium and family businesses.