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

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.