SOFIA (Bulgaria), February 3 (SeeNews) – The European Commission said it is ready to take legal action against Greece over a blockade of road traffic on the common border with Bulgaria by protesting Greek farmers.
Greek farmers seeking higher purchase prices for their produce have blocked border crossings on the main roads leading north to neighbouring European Union member Bulgaria since January 18, causing long queues of waiting trucks and losses for Bulgarian companies.
“The Commission stands ready to use all the necessary legal avenues to ensure that the free movement of goods is guaranteed,” Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said in a statement on Tuesday after a telephone conversation with Bulgaria’s Prime Minister Boyko Borisov.
President Barroso called for a quick solution to the problem, adding that he hopes that drawn out legal procedures that are not in the interests of citizens can be avoided.
Bulgarian tour operators, hauliers and other companies have said they lose a total of three million euro daily due to the blockade.