Bulgaria and Turkey are discussing urgent measures due to the accumulation of trucks at the border. Minister of Transport and Communications Georgi Peev held a conversation with Turkish Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloğlu, bTV reported. The two discussed the possibilities for a quick solution and normalization of the crossing.
Peev also met with representatives of Bulgarian road carriers. The situation at the "Kapitan Andreevo" border checkpoint remains the most complicated, where the columns are the result of several simultaneously acting factors.
Reconstruction and increased control
Large-scale reconstruction and modernization are being carried out at the checkpoint. Due to the activities, some of the routes have been temporarily closed, which limits the throughput capacity.
Additional delays are caused by the increased control over compliance with the rule for a stay of up to 90 days within 180 days in the Schengen area for third-country nationals. This rule has also led to protests by Turkish carriers.
Traffic is also increasing due to the upcoming national holiday of Turkey on October 29. According to the border authorities, between 8 am and 6 pm, 418 trucks were processed at the exit through the “Kapitan Andreevo“ border checkpoint, while none were processed at the entrance.
A total of 1,304 trucks passed through the checkpoint over the past 24 hours. Of these, 279 were at the entrance, and 1025 were on their way to Turkey.
New working meetings are coming up
„We are working in full coordination with the Turkish side and with the competent Bulgarian institutions to reduce the number of truck columns at the border as quickly as possible. We are aware of the losses and difficulties that the industry is suffering“, says Georgi Peev.
According to him, specific steps will be taken to optimize control and organization so that the normal passage of trucks through the checkpoint can be restored.
Working meetings are coming up with the competent institutions and industry organizations. They should determine follow-up actions for a lasting solution to the problem of trucks crossing the border.
Sources: btvnovinite.bg, marica.bg