Protests of miners and energy workers cause transport chaos on Trakia motorway

Traffic at key points across the country was blocked after energy workers and miners staged protests on September 29.

The protests took place on major roads and caused kilometres long queues of vehicles and traffic jams. They are against the territorial just transition plans for the coal regions of Stara Zagora, Kyustendil and Pernik, which the cabinet discussed today at an emergency meeting.

Bulgaria is the only EU country that has not yet submitted its territorial plans and could lose hundreds of millions of euros.

The protest against the territorial plans of the coal regions led to complete transport chaos on the Trakia motorway. Crossing the key road artery was impossible. The alternative routes which were introduced have significantly lengthened travel times.

Kilometre-long queues formed in many places, and in the Stara Zagora area the traffic jam reached 12 km.

Despite the attempts of the traffic police to regulate the traffic, shortly after 8.00 this morning the protesters broke through the police cordon and with a human chain blocked both lanes of the Trakia motorway at the junction for Stara Zagora at the 208th kilometre. This forced the police to divert traffic in the direction to Bourgas from 185 m shortly after the turn-off at Chirpan.

"This civil disobedience is inspired only by the fact that the territorial plans for Stara Zagora district, for Bobov Dol and for Pernik were drawn up in the dark. If these territorial plans are adopted today by the Council of Ministers it means that the energy and mining industry in the country will be destroyed, the reduction of capacities periodically, over a certain period of time in the year will lead to an extreme limitation of energy capacities," said one of the protesters.

“Give us a chance to look after our children at home, they should not go abroad," said another protester.

"I will stay here until they move me out because I have no intention of moving," said a participant in the protest.

The protesting workers said they were ready for indefinite protest actions and a complete blockade of the entire country.

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