site.btaTraffic at Kulata-Promachonas Border Crossing Temporarily Halted Due to Greek Farmers’ Protest

Greek border authorities have temporarily halted the passage of vehicles at the Kulata-Promachonas border control checkpoint between Bulgaria and Greece, Border Police General Directorate reported on Wednesday. Traffic has been suspended on both sides for all vehicles for an indefinite period due to ongoing protests by Greek farmers.

At around 2 p.m., the joint contact centre for police cooperation at Promachonas was informed by Greek police that the road on their side of the crossing had been closed. Traffic on the Bulgarian side was stopped shortly afterward. Lines of cars and lorries quickly formed, and heavy goods vehicles are being diverted at the start of the motorway to Greece. The Border Police advises travellers in the region to use the Ilinden-Exochi border crossing. Bulgarian police presence has been reinforced.

Earlier on Wednesday, Greek media reported that the protest by Greek agricultural producers and livestock farmers is expanding with new road blockades reinforced by tractors and other types of farming equipment. According to Greece’s public broadcaster ERT, in the Thessaly region more than 4,000 agricultural machines have already been positioned along the roads, and from Wednesday a new road blockade is in place near the city of Trikala. Police forces had been deployed on the Serres–Promachonas road, but the protesters managed to break through.

The protests erupted due to delays in the payment of agricultural subsidies amid a corruption scandal at the Greek agricultural payments agency, OPEKEPE, even though the government has begun partial disbursement of the subsidies. In a statement to the Government Council for Economic Policy, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said that he understands the farmers’ dissatisfaction due to delayed payments and emphasized that, nevertheless, they will receive EUR 500 million more this year compared to the previous one. “Extreme actions don’t help, we are open to dialogue,” he said.

Since Monday morning, the road towards Athens remains closed near Malgara, west of Thessaloniki, where a large number of farmers have gathered together with their agricultural machinery. Other major roads remain blocked, including the E65 highway near Karditsa, the Egnatia motorway near Komotini. Authorities have arranged alternative detour routes in these areas.