Greek Farmers Renew Bulgaria Border Blockade..

Photo by BGNES
Click to enlarge..(Photo by BGNES)
February 2, 2010 - The protesting Greek farmers continued Saturday, January 30th the blockade at cross border points between Bulgaria and Greece, despite earlier promises they will be lifted during the weekend.

At 5 pm, Kulata-Promahon closed for all traffic, including tractor-trailers, cars and buses. Earlier during the day only cars and buses were let through. A line of 200 tractor-trailers is reported at the cross border point Saturday evening. The other 3 crossing points are open for the time being. The Ilinden-Eksohi one was also closed for all traffic during the day, Capitan Petko Voyvoda-Ormenion was closed until noon. The only fully open border point is the one at Zlatograd, but the road there is not accessible for tractor-trailers.

On Thursday, January 28th Bulgaria's Economy and Energy Minister, Traicho Traikov, announced he had received assurances from Athens that Greece will bring an end to the problem by the weekend.

According to estimates, Bulgaria's businesses loose at least EUR 3 M a day over the continuing protests. The farmers demand increase of the EU tobacco subsidies, tax reduction for cotton and grain growers, preferential prices for fuel used in farming, easier loan lending terms, and extending EU subsidies beyond 2013.

Reference: Greek Farmers Renew Bulgaria Border Blockade, Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency), 1/30/2010.

Bulgaria related news briefs:
Bulgaria - leadership of tobacco fund to be replaced..;
Bulgaria - illegal trade in cigarettes will reach 40% of total trade in 2010..;
Bulgaria - limits on personal imports of tobacco products from outside the EU..;
Bulgaria - European Commission authorizes payment to tobacco producers for 2009 crop..;
Bulgaria -two cigarette smuggling attempts busted on Serbian border..;
Bulgaria - price of cigarettes increases..;
Bulgaria - Bulgartabac stays in the economy ministry, sold by middle of 2010, starting price 100,000,000 euro..;
Bulgaria - tobacco producers propose Bulgartabac transfer..;
Bulgaria - government, tobacco growers reach subsidy agreement..;
Bulgaria - start of steps leading to the privatization of the state-owned cigarette monopoly Bulgartabac..;
Bulgaria - police hold smoking protest over lack of bonuses..;
Bulgaria - police busts major cigarette contraband ring..;
Bulgaria - Bulgartabac Holding” will be privatized in 2010..;
Bulgaria - MPs Impose Hefty Fines on Cigarette Sales Violators..;
Bulgartabac Chief - cigarette tax increase as of January 1, 2010..;
Bulgaria Bulgartabac Holding Sells 23% of Shares to Mutual Funds..;
Bulgaria - more than 70% of smokers want to quit..;
Bulgaria - cigarette taxes going up each year except 2011..;
Bulgaria - chair of the economic committee in parliament disapproves of planned raise in excise duties on cigarettes..;
Bulgaria and others - smoking ban, increased cigarette taxes, smuggling..;
Bulgaria - Cigarette excise duties will be increased next year..;
Bulgaria - cigarette contraband, government loses BGN 920M yearly..;
Bulgaria - one third of the tobacco products sold are illicit..;
Bulgaria - new government to speed-up Bulgartabac sale..;
Bulgaria - Fake Victory Light cigarettes..;
Bulgaria's tobacco monopoly may be up for sale..;
Bulgarian lawmakers vote to ban smoking in all publc places from June 2010..; Bulgarian tobacco company Sofia-BT exports increase by 541 percent..;
Does Russia own Bulgaria's tobacco monopoly, Bulgartabac..;
EU percent of adults smokers -highest Greece 1 , Bulgaria 2.. - lowest Slovenia..;
Bulgaria - 1 in 3 youths smoke / half of pregnant women smoke..;
PMI training Bulgarian custom officers to stop cigarette smuggling..;
Philip Morris International (PMI) was truly happy they had been back in the Bulgarian cigarette market for a year and had already had 6.8% of market..;
WHO FCTC Protocol to Prevent Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products Won't Be Completed Until End of 2010..;
WHO Report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic 2008..;
Bulgaria Enters 2009 with Cigarette Prices Hike...
Bulgaria is marking Tuesday, November 10, 2009, the 20th year since the internal coup at the Bulgarian Communist Party which led to the crumbling of the communist regime..

0 comments: