site.btaInternational Hauliers Report Heavy Losses Due to Blockades on Greek Border

International hauliers are reporting losses of millions of leva due to the blockades on the Greek border, Teodor Vergov, Head of Legal Department at the Bulgarian Union of International Hauliers (UIH), told BTA on Wednesday.

He stressed that the exact amount of financial losses caused by the protest of Greek farmers has not been calculated yet, adding that the negative effects are reflected in other aspects as well. He pointed out that the drivers' working hours cannot be utilized, there are delayed delivery contracts, missed loads, and many other ramifications. An additional burden for business is the cost of salaries for drivers who are forced to wait at the border instead of carrying out transport and covering kilometres. According to him, the losses so far can hardly be calculated accurately, but they certainly exceed millions of levа.

Vergov commented that the main problem is related to the strict rules regarding working hours of drivers in international transport, which are monitored by tachographs. "When trucks are stopped on the road and move every half and hour or even every hour, this cannot be considered a break. There is a break only when the vehicle is parked," he said, adding that carriers have contracts with clearly fixed delivery times, which cannot be met when there are blockades on the borders. This leads to penalties, loss of clients and missed cargo, Vergov summarized.

The UIH has sent reports to Greek police, the Greek prosecution service, as well as to the European Commission, he stressed, adding that a report is also being prepared to be sent to the Prosecutor General of Greece. "He is the main competent person who can initiate criminal proceedings against violators of the law," Vergov specified. He emphasized that Bulgarian carriers are in no way to blame for the problems of Greek farmers and there is no reason for them to be a party that suffers.