site.btaPM Calls for Temporary Measures at Kulata Checkpoint to Ease Traffic until Schengen Land Border Controls Are Lifted

Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev, Interior Minister Kalin Stoyanov and representatives of the border authorities considered ways to speed up the passage of vehicles through the Kulata checkpoint on Bulgaria's border with Greece, the government press office reported on Monday. Glavchev and Stoyanov visited the place to inspect traffic across the border.

The Prime Minister was adamant that temporary measures are necessary here until Bulgaria is admitted to the Schengen border-free area by land after it was admitted by air and sea on March 31. He said the flow of vehicles should be divided into vehicles from EU member states and vehicles from third countries, because the two groups are subject to different checks. Another idea is to put up temporary road signs to lower driving speeds towards the end of the motorway in order to avoid congestion, Glavchev said.

Interior Minister Stoyanov said the Bulgarian and Greek authorities are working together to relax border controls to let vehicles pass through more quickly. During the high summer, drivers wait 30 to 40 minutes at the Kulata border checkpoint, which handles about 5,000 vehicles per day, according to Stoyanov.

At about 3 p.m. on Monday, traffic was heavy and the line of passenger cars waiting to go through Kulata was 1.5 km long.