General Directorate

Heavy traffic is expected across Bulgaria on the last working day of the week as thousands of people begin their travels for the upcoming Christmas and New Year holidays. The busiest routes are anticipated to be the exits of major cities and highways, particularly with the influx of travelers leaving Sofia and returning at the end of the holiday season.

The European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) in Sofia has charged two executives of a Bulgarian company with fraud involving a waste processing project in Asenovgrad.

Denmark's Glyptotek art museum announced on Nov. 26 that it will return the bronze head of Roman Emperor Septimius Severus to Türkiye, after showcasing it for over 50 years.

The statue, which originates from the ancient city of Boubon in Burdur, was illegally excavated in the 1960s and subsequently sold to Denmark's Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek in 1970.

Chief Commissioner Anton Zlatanov, Director of the General Directorate "Border Police," assured that Bulgaria will fully meet its obligations even after gaining Schengen membership by land. Speaking about the upcoming reorganization at the Danube Bridge-Giurgiu checkpoint, he emphasized the country's preparedness for the transition.

Bulgaria will independently determine the locations and methods of border control with Romania following its Schengen entry by land, according to diplomatic sources in Brussels shared with BNR.

The European Public Prosecutor's Office conducted ten searches across Bulgarian cities, including Burgas, Petrich, Rila, and Sofia, on Wednesday. The searches are part of an investigation into alleged fraud related to EU subsidies for the restoration of a 12th-century church in the Rila municipality.

Since last summer, and specifically in July 2024, the decision to revoke the operation of the private educational institution (Gymnasium and Lyceum) in Piraeus, which was sealed by the decision of the Minister of Education, Kyriakos Pierrakakis, had been signed.

France has announced that it will deliver Mirage 2000 fighter jets to Ukraine in the first quarter of 2025, as stated by French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu. He shared this update on his "X" profile, noting that the aircraft will come equipped with new air-to-ground weapons and anti-radio-electronic warfare systems.

A series of nearly 100 cultural events are underway to mark the centennial of diplomatic relations between Türkiye and Hungary.

A Hungarian ballet group performed in the capital Ankara on Sept. 22, the 96th event in the series, as part of broader efforts to showcase Hungarian culture in Türkiye.

The number of passengers going through Türkiye's airports increased by 9.9 percent in the first seven months of 2024 to reach 129.6 million.

The international passenger tally rose by 11 percent annually in January-July to more than 70 million, according to data from the General Directorate of State Airports Authority (DHMİ).