site.btaTraffic Organization at Danube Bridge via Virtual Queue Scrapped since January 4 - Interior Ministry

The organization of traffic at Danube Bridge via a virtual queue has been scrapped since January 4, Interior Minister Daniel Mitov said during a hearing in Parliament on Thursday. He answered MPs' questions about the mandatory registration of heavy-duty vehicles in a virtual queue at the Danube Bridge border control checkpoint between Bulgaria's Ruse and Romania's Giurgiu, an issue that arose after Bulgaria's Schengen accession by land and the abolition of border controls for freight transport as of January 1.

Shortly after January 1, complaints arose that trucks were being held up and made to go through what is called "a virtual queue" even after Bulgaria and Romania joined the Schengen and vehicles are supposed to cross the border without stopping or waiting. Much of the complaints are related to an ongoing repair of Danube Bridge, which slows down the border crossing.

Minister Mitov said that the situation at the Danube Bridge border control checkpoint is calm at present. Queues of freight vehicles formed on January 8, 9, and 13 between 4:30 p.m. and 10 p.m.; the vehicles waited their turn to cross, then the traffic went back to normal, he explained.

Both vehicles and citizens are checked at random by border police in the border area of Bulgaria's borders with Romania and Greece. The checks are also based on information received in advance, Mitov said.

In his words, since the border checks were lifted on January 1, the processing capability of the Danube Bridge crossing has been determined by the bridge installation, which is undergoing repairs. Vehicles are allowed to pass in stages in both directions through the only lane currently available. Because of that, when traffic is heavier and in certain cases freight vehicles have to wait on Bulgarian territory outside of the border area. The process of determining where the trucks will wait and how that will be organized falls under the competence of the road infrastructure's owners and administrator, not the Interior Ministry, Mitov explained. He noted that by order of the Mayor of Ruse, as of September 15, 2023 only freight vehicles with a number from the traffic control system of TIR Parking Ruse OOD - the so-called virtual queue - are allowed through the Danube Bridge border crossing.

When it comes to the parking lots' functioning and the organization of their work, the Interior Ministry's obligations are related solely to the provision of a safe road traffic and, if needed, to the stoppage of traffic in the area of Byala, Ruse Municipality (Northern Bulgaria), Mitov said.