site.btaCeremony Opening Road from Dimari in Greece to Bulgarian Border to Be Held, Rudozem-Xanthi Border Crossing to Follow

A 3.25 km stretch of road between the town of Dimari, Northeastern Greece, and the border with Southern Bulgaria will be officially opened Tuesday, the Smolyan Regional Administration announced. The ceremony is organized by Greek partners from the Eastern Macedonia and Thrace administrative region. Once the final section on Greek territory of the cross-border route is brought into operation, the Rudozem–Xanthi border crossing is expected to open to traffic.

The construction of the border crossing near Rudozem was negotiated under a Bulgarian–Greek bilateral agreement in the 1990s. The opening of the cross-border road was delayed for decades, with the most recent obstacles linked to delays in construction on the Greek side. The completion of the Dimari–border section removes the final barrier to putting the route into operation.

Following Bulgaria’s accession to the Schengen area in 2025, the EU-funded Rudozem–Xanthi border checkpoint became redundant even before its official opening. Free movement without border controls through the Rudozem–Xanthi crossing will become possible only after the opening of the Dimari–border road section. At this stage, traffic will be limited to vehicles weighing up to 3.5 tonnes.

The opening of the Rudozem–Xanthi road is expected to boost economic development in the Smolyan region by stimulating tourism and business activity on both sides of the border, representatives of the regional and municipal authorities said.