Former Minister Claims Bulgaria’s Border Parking Scandal Could Drive Neighboring Countries to Bypass the Nation

Ivan Hristanov, leader of the "Unity" (Edinenie) party and former Deputy Minister of Agriculture, has criticized the handling of border buffer parking lots, which he claims are controlled by a few mobsters with the help of state institutions and political parties. He expressed his concerns about these parking lots, which are privately owned and charge truck drivers fees—15 leva for Bulgarian trucks and 25 euros for foreign ones.

A recent emergency meeting called by Acting Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev aimed to gather detailed information from various government ministries and agencies about the situation. The meeting emphasized the need to improve buffer parking to ease traffic around border crossings, but noted that additional measures were needed to reduce waiting times and prevent line breaches.

Hristanov noted that similar issues have been observed near Ruse, though a solution has been implemented there. He criticized the lack of effective measures and pointed out that in the case of refusal to pay the fees, truck drivers face racketeering, extortion, and even having their trucks' license plates withdrawn.

According to Hristanov, neighboring countries, including Turkey, Greece, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Romania, are considering ways to bypass Bulgaria, which could lead to a loss of business, reduced revenue, and decreased employment and wages in the country. He recalled a diplomatic conversation where it was revealed that Bulgaria's former Prime Minister Borissov refused to address the issue, directing complaints instead to the company managing the parking lots, which he alleged had ties to organized crime.

Hristanov criticized the political parties for not addressing the issue, accusing them of supporting the mafia to maintain...