site.btaBulgarian, Romanian Mayors Celebrate Schengen Entry at Kardam Border Checkpoint
General Toshevo Mayor Valentin Dimitrov, Kardam Village Mayor Georgi Sabev, and Negru Voda (Romania) Mayor Mihai-Adrian Argintaru symbolically crossed the raised barriers at the Kardam border crossing checkpoint in Northeastern Bulgaria on Thursday, celebrating Bulgaria and Romania’s entry into Schengen. The event featured traditional Bulgarian pogacha bread and a traditional horo chain dance.
Argintaru highlighted the benefits of Schengen membership, noting that border crossings will become faster, queues of trucks and cars will disappear, and the area will be cleaner on both sides of the border.
"We now enjoy free access, but it remains limited due to the poor condition of the road between Kardam and General Toshevo,” emphasized Dimitrov, urging the Bulgarian state and the Road Infrastructure Agency to address this issue promptly. He also pointed out that Romanian roads are in better condition.
Mayor Sabev remarked that one of the most significant benefits for Kardam residents is the elimination of long queues, which often stretched as far as the village.
Ion Churya, a former border officer who served on the Romanian side for 21 years, told reporters that the Schengen entry will greatly improve the experience for travellers. Long queues and delays, which sometimes saw up to 4,000 vehicles crossing daily on busy days, will now be a thing of the past, he said. Churya added that technical failures, such as IT system outages that caused tension on both sides of the border, would no longer be an issue.
The celebrations at the border crossing included servings of Dobrudzha bread and champagne. In a symbolic gesture, dancers from Kardam village crossed into Romanian territory on foot, performing the horo dance as they returned.
/KK/
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