Bulgarian authorities have revised the entry conditions for foreign citizens, now travelers with unopened Schengen single and multiple entry visas, as well as with national visas of Romania, Croatia and Cyprus can not enter the country, writes the government newsletter of the republic.
“The Republic of Bulgaria will consider the following documents issued by the member states of the Schengen Agreement: a single entry visa valid for two or more entries after it has been used once to enter a Schengen country, as well as a visa with limited territorial validity for two or more visits after a single entry into the Schengen area,” the document says.
As the newspaper notes, similar requirements will be imposed on holders of national short-term and long-term visas of Cyprus or Romania. After visiting these countries entry into Bulgaria is possible for a period of not more than 90 days within 180 days.
The national short-term and long-term visas and residence permits issued by Croatian authorities until December 31, 2022 are recognized as equivalent to the Bulgarian national visas for transit and residence.
The agrarian ministries of Ukraine and Bulgaria are starting to develop a declaration on the mechanisms of influence in case of possible market shocks, including sharp price changes, in bilateral trade of sunflower oil, the press service of the Bulgarian Ministry of Agriculture said.
“The declaration is expected to signal the willingness of both sides to act together to prevent future market anomalies,” the Bulgarian agriculture ministry said in a statement following talks Friday in Sofia between Bulgarian Agriculture Minister Yavor Gechev and Ukrainian Agropolitics Minister Nikolai Solsky.
The sides discussed an emergency protective measure of the European Commission to temporarily ban imports from Ukraine of four crops – wheat, corn, canola and sunflower – in Bulgaria, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Hungary.
Gechev informed the participants of the negotiations about the Bulgarian government’s decision to lift the national ban on imports from Ukraine of a number of agricultural products and said the Bulgarian side will closely monitor the market both in terms of sunflower oil and other agricultural products.
“Bulgaria and Ukraine can work together to find long-term solutions for accelerated transit of agricultural goods to third countries and propose them to the European Commission,” the Bulgarian minister said.
He said that Bulgaria’s efforts are currently focused on the development of logistical systems through which solidarity corridors will function and fulfill the function for which they were created.
“Together we can face the challenges posed by the current situation and, in this way, solve them more quickly and efficiently,” Gechev stressed.
In turn, Nikolai Solski expressed the hope that the dialogue between the agrarian departments of the countries will continue. He assured his Bulgarian colleague that Ukraine was ready to jointly solve any arising issues in the future.
For its part, the Ukrainian Ministry of Agrarian Policy said after the talks that Bulgaria was ready to import all agricultural products from Ukraine, except for the four crops mentioned above.
Bulgaria has imposed a temporary ban on imports of agricultural products from Ukraine, except for goods that are in transit, Acting Prime Minister Galab Donev said.
“The main reason is that last year, contrary to the idea of the so-called “solidarity corridors,” significant amounts of food remained in the country and the main production and trade chains were disrupted. If this trend persists and even intensifies, which is quite possible after the introduction of similar bans from other countries, it could have very serious consequences for Bulgarian businesses,” bnr.bg quoted Donev as saying at Wednesday’s government meeting.
According to the acting prime minister, the government is forced to take this measure because “responsible European authorities are still considering an adequate response to the changed circumstances to which the solidarity corridors have led.”
Donev expressed hope that Brussels would hear the positions of EU member states – Bulgaria, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia – and reconsider its own. “Bulgaria remains in solidarity with Ukraine, but the bankruptcy of Bulgarian agricultural producers will not help this cause,” the prime minister stressed.
At Wednesday’s meeting, the Bulgarian government will decide on the duration of the temporary ban on imports of agricultural products from Ukraine.
Poland on April 15, after the congress of farmers, made a unilateral decision to temporarily halt imports of any agricultural products from Ukraine until June 30, 2023, despite the fact that on July 7, a bilateral agreement was reached with Ukraine to temporarily suspend exports of only four crops – wheat, corn, canola and sunflower, while transit was kept, but with tightened conditions, which the parties planned to agree upon quickly.
Similar decisions were then taken by Hungary and Slovakia.
On the night of April 20, Poland resumes the transit of Ukrainian agricultural products, but will apply a number of control mechanisms.
Farmers in Romania and Bulgaria staged protests on Friday against the European Union’s decision to exempt agricultural products from Ukraine, which has oversupplied local markets and contributed to lower prices, the Associated Press (AP) reported on Friday.
“Farmers in Romania and Bulgaria organized protests on Friday over the European Union’s stance on excessive supplies of Ukrainian agricultural products that have flooded local markets and weakened prices,” AP reports.
Protests were held in Bucharest and other cities in Romania. In Bulgaria, farmers blocked several border crossings.
“There are less than three months left before the new harvest and there is a danger that the products will not be able to be sold above the production price,” AP quoted Liliana Peron, executive director of the Romanian Farmers Association, as saying.
In recent weeks, Polish farmers have also been protesting against the EU’s duty-free supplies of Ukrainian grain to European markets, forcing the country’s Agriculture Minister Henryk Kowalczyk to resign.
Last year, the EU abolished customs tariffs for Ukraine to allow for freer grain supplies.
On Monday, the European Commission announced its desire to help the population of Ukraine by organizing the export of Ukrainian grain, but it is making sure that the EU market does not suffer too much from Kyiv’s support measures.
Farmers in Romania and Bulgaria staged protests Friday against the European Union’s decision to exempt agricultural products from Ukraine from duties, which ended up oversaturating local markets and contributing to lower prices, the Associated Press (AP) reported Friday.
“Farmers in Romania and Bulgaria staged protests Friday over the European Union’s stance on excessive supplies of Ukrainian agricultural products that have flooded local markets and weakened prices,” AP reported.
Protests took place in Bucharest and other Romanian cities. In Bulgaria, farmers blocked several border points.
“The new harvest is less than three months away and there is a danger that produce cannot be sold above the production price,” AP quoted Liliana Peron, executive director of the Romanian Farmers’ Association, as saying.
Polish farmers have also protested in recent weeks over duty-free supplies of Ukrainian grain to European markets adopted by the EU, forcing the country’s Agriculture Minister Henrik Kowalczyk to resign.
Last year, the EU abolished customs tariffs for Ukraine for freer grain shipments.
On Monday, the European Commission said it wanted to help the Ukrainian population by organizing the export of Ukrainian grain, but it is making sure that the EU market is not hit too hard by Kiev’s support measures.
Leaders of five Central and Eastern European countries have urged the European Commission to take action in connection with a surplus of grain and other Ukrainian food on their territory, the Associated Press reported from Warsaw.
“We call on the European Commission to study the possibility of buying accumulated grain from EU member states bordering Ukraine for humanitarian needs,” reads a letter addressed to EC President Ursula von der Leyen on behalf of the prime ministers of Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria.
“We also reiterate our call for financial support from the EU to accelerate the development of transport infrastructure (for the export of grain – IF),” it says.
It is pointed out that such products remain on the shelves of these countries in excess, reducing prices, and do not reach the countries that are ready to buy them outside the EU.
The European Commission earlier said that it intended to quickly launch an assistance mechanism for countries that faced an influx of Ukrainian products.
