Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2025 All Rights Reserved

Greeks and Romanians shop in Bulgaria on mass scale after the Schengen entry

Photo: digi24.ro

The benefits for Bulgaria from full entry into Schengen are estimated at over 800 million euros per year. The largest benefits will be for manufacturers and exporters. But while this macroeconomic effect is awaited, the benefits are already being felt by small businesses. Romanians and Greeks are massively using the abolition of border controls to shop for fuel, food and cigarettes in the country.

Bulgaria has become a preferred shopping destination for Romanians near the border. More and more of them are crossing the Danube to fill up their tanks or buy cigarettes and food, which are much cheaper, the Romanian television station Digi24 reported. In a report titled “Bulgaria - the preferred supermarket of Romanians from the southern part of the country”, the television station points out that about 5,000 cars cross the bridge near Ruse every day. Their number is more than twice as high as in the same period in 2024.

For bargain hunters, border police remind that there are restrictions. A maximum of 40 packs of cigarettes can be exported to EU countries. Penalties for violations start with a warning and can reach 20,000 lei, and if the limit is exceeded, a criminal case is initiated. For alcoholic beverages, the limit is 40 liters.



Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

Light rainfall is possible in southern Bulgaria, warming continues

On Thursday, minimum temperatures will range between 6 and 11°C across the country. Along the Black Sea coast, they will reach 13 to 16°C , while in Sofia they will drop to around 7°C. In the morning, visibility will be reduced in some low-lying areas..

published on 10/22/25 7:05 PM
Valérie Hayer

Renew Europe calls on the European Commission to urgently send a mission to Bulgaria

The President of the “Renew Europe” group in the European Parliament, Valérie Hayer, called on the European Commission to urgently send a mission to Bulgaria to assess the rule of law situation and to freeze all payments under the Recovery and..

published on 10/22/25 6:12 PM

Young doctors to receive long-awaited pay rise

“At coalition level, we have decided to meet the demands of young doctors regarding salary levels,” said Kostadin Angelov, chair of the parliamentary health committee, at a meeting of the panel, as reported by BNR's Mila Mladenova. Young doctors..

published on 10/22/25 4:55 PM