BULGARIA TO WORK FOR FACILITATED VISA REGIME WITH NEIGHBOURING COUNTRIES

Bulgaria will do its best to facilitate the visa regime with its neighbouring countries, Foreign Minister Ivailo Kalfin said.

Kalfin said that he was sorry such regime had to be introduced because of Bulgaria's EU entry.

Though Turkey was informed of regime changes, stemming from accession, a traffic jam occurred on January 1 2007 at the Bulgarian- Turkish border, Focus news agency reported.

A number of truck drivers, trying to enter Bulgaria, lacked visas, which led to the problem. To deal with it, the Bulgarian consulate in Edirne is working overtime to issue visas to all travelers needing such.

The new visa regime will also be valid for Balkan countries, Kalfin said. Bulgaria opened consulates in Nis and Bitola, which already issue the needed visas.