Foreign Minister Ivan Kondov has expressed optimism about the potential abolition of US visas for Bulgarian citizens. In a written response to MP Martin Dimitrov, Kondov outlined the progress and challenges in meeting the criteria for inclusion in the US Visa Waiver Program. The minister noted that Bulgaria must achieve a visa refusal rate of…
The state budget for 2025 provides UAH 1.6 billion for the purchase of school buses to maximise the number of children attending full-time education facilities, especially in rural areas. Thus, the Government has recently approved the distribution of the state budget subvention to local budgets for the purchase of school buses in 2025 among the…
A new train route between Vilnius and Tallinn was launched on January 6, extending the Vilnius-Riga service that had been running for over a year now. Rail operators from the three Baltic countries – LTG Link, Vivi and Elron – have aligned their train schedules to make it possible for passengers to travel from Vilnius…
Starting from January 1, travelers with children no longer need to provide declarations of consent from absent parents when crossing into Greece and Romania, as announced by Chief Commissioner Anton Zlatanov, Director of the Border Police. This change applies to travel to these two countries, following the removal of land border checks between Bulgaria, Romania…
In one year following the launch of the Vilnius-Riga rail link, more than 62,000 passengers have travelled between the capitals of Lithuania and Latvia, reports the Latvian public broadcaster LSM. The train journey now takes under 4 hours, according to LSM, which quotes the Lithuanian state railways, LTG. “This route is successful, having maintained its…
The opening of the Nyzhankovychi-Malhowice checkpoint on the Ukrainian-Polish border will significantly ease pressure on neighboring checkpoints, Ukrainian Ambassador to Poland Vasyl Bodnar, who attended the opening ceremony of the new checkpoint on December 21, has said. Bodnar described the event as “very symbolic” for him, as it marked the first checkpoint opened since his…
Renovation work has commenced at the “Kulata” border checkpoint in preparation for Bulgaria’s upcoming entry into the Schengen area on January 1, 2025. The upgrades aim to enhance traffic flow by creating two lanes in each direction leading up to the checkpoint. The expansion includes a 200-meter stretch on both sides of the checkpoint. However,…