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The national protest by Bulgarian grain producers against restructuring of the financial framework for agriculture has reached the capital city Sofia. The first group of agricultural machinery arrived in Sofia on the night of December 5 2011, local news agency Focus said. A protest was scheduled to start at noon outside Sofia’s landmark Alexander Nevsky church in the centre of city, and was scheduled to last until 5pm. About 200 tractors and other agricultural vehicles were parked in the square outside the church. The police presence in the area was [...]

Despite the three meetings with representatives of the government and the pledge that 2012 would witness the introduction of a lower fuel excise duty scheme, the protests staged by agricultural workers across the country are expanding, with farmers already forming road and border blockades. Grain producers have already blocked the Plovdiv-Karlovo road and the Petolachkata junction near the town of Sliven. Traffic is seriously obstructed on the Varna-Burgas road near the village of Bliznatsi and on the Pleven-Veliko Tarnovo road, where there a rally is being held. According to reports [...]

The protest by Bulgarian grain producers against what they say is an effective cut in subsidies in the financial framework appears set to continue after a meeting on November 29 with Agriculture and Food Minister Miroslav Naidenov ended inconclusively. November 29 was the second day of the protest, and saw protesters using tractors and other agricultural machinery blocking on the main roads in Plovdiv, causing transport chaos in the northern part of the city, Bulgarian National Television said. Naidenov said after the meeting that the financial framework had not been [...]

Protesting Bulgarian farmers from the north-east plan to stage a symbolic 20-minute blockade of the Danube Bridge between Bulgaria and Romania at the city of Ruse Wednesday. Nationwide protests of Bulgarian agriculture producers were unleashed Monday following disagreements with the government on the level and timeline of payment of subsidies. Tuesday the Bulgarian National Radio reported that hundreds of farming machines have been parked on the road to the main crossing point to Turkey, Kapitan Andreevo. Later during the day farmers from Bulgaria's north-east, mounted on some 200 farming tractors, [...]