The European Commission said on Wednesday morning it had not received any notice from Sofia on the developments at border crossings between Bulgaria and Greece.
Hours earlier, Bulgarian Foreign Minister Daniel Mitov said the government had informed Brussels of the situation unfolding in the past three days, with hundreds of vehicles, mostly transit trucks transporting goods, waiting on both sides of the border.
Under EU rules, the blockade constitutes a violation of the principle of free movement within the EU’s internal market.
No letter had arrived at the EU Commission as of Wednesday morning, the Bulgarian National Radio quotes EU Commission officials as saying.
Kulata-Promachonas and Ilinden-Exochi border crossings have been severely affected by a protest of Greek farmers who are have been setting up intermittent blockades since Monday, demonstrating against government plans to slash state subsidies and change legislation on social insurance. A general strike, in which the farmers will also take part, is scheduled for February 04, Thursday.
On Wednesday afternoon, after the checkpoint had been closed to trucks for more than 12 hours, farmers allowed 125 vehicles on each side of the border to move forward.
