Balgarianovinite.com Difficulties are expected for cars and lorries crossing the border with Greece in both directions because of strike action and a blockade by Greek farmers, the General Directorate Border Police said on its website on Saturday.
The update reflects the situation as of Saturday morning.
Traffic is normal at the border crossings with Turkiye, the Republic of North Macedonia, Serbia and Romania.
The current wave of Greek farmers’ and livestock breeders’ protests began in late November 2025, triggered by delays in the payment of EU-backed agricultural subsidies after a corruption scandal at Greece’s agricultural payments agency OPEKEPE led to intensified checks and payment bottlenecks. While the government began making partial payments, protesters escalated with rolling road blockades using tractors and other farm machinery.
The protests intensified in early December, affecting major road arteries and, crucially for Bulgaria, border traffic. On December 3, traffic on the Bulgarian side of the Kulata-Promachonas checkpoint was suspended, with queues forming and a heightened police presence; Greek media cited expanding blockades, with thousands of agricultural machines positioned along roads in Thessaly and a new blockade near Trikala. On December 6, kilometre-long truck queues were reported at Kulata amid suspended heavy goods traffic and “time slots” for crossings, with warnings that a full closure could follow.
The situation on the ground is fluid, with blockades being lifted and reimposed. On December 6-7, Greek farmers lifted the Promachonas blockade, allowing lorries through after earlier restrictions that had permitted only cars, buses and vehicles carrying perishable goods; at the same time, protests continued elsewhere in Greece and police used tear gas near Thessaloniki airport during an attempted road blockage.
By mid-December, farmers again blocked the Kulata-Promachonas crossing for trucks and briefly blocked the main passenger entrance to Thessaloniki port, with solidarity actions reported from other groups.
As of late December and early January, he protests are continuing with nationwide blockade points and signs of internal division over whether to negotiate. An end-December update cited 57 blockade points and plans for a national meeting to decide next steps.
High-profile actions such as a “siege” of Volos port by tractors and supporting fishermen, while the government signalled readiness for talks once farmers appoint a delegation.
Border-disruption notices have remained frequent. There have been multiple Border Police warnings of difficulties at all Bulgaria-Greece crossings due to strike action and blockades, plus specific freight restrictions/closures (including Ilinden-Exochi restrictions for heavy vehicles and temporary suspension of lorry traffic via Kapitan Petko Voyvoda-Ormenion, with Kulata resuming traffic at points). Greek Farmers Blockade Continues to Disrupt Border Traffic 2025 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-01-03 10:59:33 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law