Bulgaria-Greece Checkpoints Open to All Vehicles as of Sunday Morning

Southeast Europe | February 28, 2016, Sunday // 09:56|  views

Bulgarian PM Borisov said he had tried to talk to Greek farmers on Saturday but hadn't found anyone at their blockade. Photo: BGNES

All crossing points on the border between Bulgaria and Greece are open to traffic both ways as of Sunday morning, Bulgarian police say.

Earlier, Greek media reported that farmers, who had set up blockades at key junctions and on the Greek side of two main borders crossings, Ilinden-Exochi and Kulata-Promachonas over the past several weeks, occasionally opening to cars and buses, were leaving the roadblocks.

Farmers were protesting against planned pension and taxation reforms, severely disrupting cross-border traffic, including organized tourism and transport of goods into, out of and via Greece.

On Wednesday Supreme Court Prosecutor Efterpi Koutzamani ruled they should lift the roadblocks or face legal action.

Bulgaria's Prime Minister Boyko Borisov for his part had warned not to attend a summit between the EU and Turkey (and this veto any possible decisions on cooperation ion the migrant crisis) unless the blockade is lifted. Separately, truck drivers had vowed to stage a permanent blockade along the border in case Greek farmers didn't end their protest action.

Bulgarian officials and union representatives - who have pursued active effort to solve the crisis at the border, with kilometers-long lines commercial transit trucks stranded for days on the border resulting in millions in losses to businesses - have maintained Greek farmers are waiting for their Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to instruct them to end the blockade

Greek media, on the other hand, report farmers are disgruntled with Tsipras and disappointed by his proposals to amend reform plans and implement alternative measures to support the agriculture sector.

 

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Tags: Bulgaria, greece, farmers, blockade, border, Alexis Tsipras, Boyko Borisov

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