site.btaCompany in Charge of Danube Bridge 2 Ready to Operate after Bulgaria's Full Schengen Membership Starts in 2025

With the accession of Bulgaria and Romania to the Schengen area and by land as of January 1, 2025, traffic at the Danube Bridge 2 crossing at Vidin - Calafat will be paused only at the toll booths, while the border and customs control will be abolished, Pavel Paunov, the executive director of the Bulgarian-Romanian company Danube Bridge Vidin – Calafat AD, told reporters here on Tuesday. Paunov reported that teams have been formed to work on six lanes, and preparations have been taken to avoid long queues for all vehicles.

A public procurement for the development of an online toll-paying system for cars will be announced. Nearly 80% of all payments are already carried out electronically.

The head of the General Directorate Border Police, Anton Zlatanov, reported that after January 1 the control at the border crossings with Romania will remain but will not be mandatory. Checks will continue for another half a year and will be carried out on the principle of a risk analysis.

Cars entering to Romania will pay a toll after crossing the bridge. On Romanian territory, a small number of them will undergo border checks. Those entering Bulgaria will first pay the toll and then cross the bridge. Some of them will be checked. The same also applies to heavy goods trucks.