Turkish hauliers and representatives of Turkish freight forwarding firms protested at the Kapitan Andreevo border crossing. They want an end to the rule for drivers from non-EU countries, who can stay in the EU for up to 90 days in any 180-day period. They also want the EU to drop visas for international drivers from countries outside the bloc.

Transport and communications minister Georgi Peev and his Turkish counterpart Abdulkadir Uraloglu held urgent talks on Wednesday evening over the lorries piling up on the Turkish side. The ministry says they discussed ways to find a quick fix that lets the lorries cross normally.

The previous development: Peev and Uraloglu seek urgent solution to truck queues at Kapitan Andreevo

Turkish drivers say more than 6,000 heavy lorries are waiting on the Turkish side at the Kapikule and Hamzabeyli crossings. The Customs Agency says a total of 650 lorries entered Bulgaria from Turkey on 27 and 28 October.

The official position of the International Transporters Association in Turkey (UND) is: "A driver is not a tourist." The group says the person behind the wheel does not come to Europe on holiday, but carries raw materials for factories, goods for shops and orders for manufacturers. So the limit for tourists should not apply to drivers, it says.

UND chairman Serafettin Aras pressed for the problems to be solved as quickly as possible. He says Turkish hauliers were promised non-tourist visas 10 months ago, but there is still no solution.

The Union of International Hauliers and the Association of Bulgarian International Road Transport Companies and Roads (AEBTRI) back the demands of their Turkish colleagues. Angel Trakov, chairman of the union's management board, said they work very well with Turkish hauliers and that rules do not decide competition. He says the queue on the Turkish side is arranged so that even Bulgarian lorries cannot get through. As far as he knows, the government is working on the issue.

Georgi Paterneychev, chairman of the AEBTRI management board, believes the problem stems from the so-called Schengen system, which the group says is unfair. He said the European Parliament's cumbersome rules mean a solution will take a long time. For now, Bulgaria is allowing a grace period in which drivers from non-EU countries can go in, unload and return while a compromise is sought.

In its statement, UND also cites European Commission data showing that trade between Turkey and the EU in 2025 was worth €217.6bn.