Brussels, 26 November 2021 (MIA) – According to European Union regulations, if the Besa Trans bus involved in the accident in Bulgaria, which killed 45 Macedonian nationals, wasn’t licensed to carry passengers, it shouldn’t have been allowed to cross an EU border, in this case Bulgaria's. EU legislation entails series of rules regarding transport licenses, and according to information acquired by MIA, the bus might have been breaking some of them. However, the European Commission will not meddle in the investigation. Member states alone are responsible for checking documents and implementing EU legislation. If the investigation finds that the vehicle was travelling using an illegal or fake license, the European Commission will condemn this practice, which endangers free competitiveness in the Union, as well as passengers’ lives. A few days ago, Macedonian authorities said that the bus was missing from the Transport Ministry’s database and wasn’t registered. Customs authorities noted that an investigation is underway into who let the vehicle cross the border without a valid license. According to EU regulations, the bus shouldn’t have been issued a license by Bulgaria, as European legislation prohibits issuing licenses to operators whose vehicles aren’t registered in an EU member state. EU , Turkey and North Macedonia are also signatories to the multilateral Interbus Agreement. However, this document doesn’t allow any type of license trade, European Commission experts told MIA. Bulgaria is not allowed to issue EU Licenses to third country operators or Interbus travel licenses to vehicles registered in third countries, that is, outside the EU. In regard to news that Besa Trans was registered in Kyustendil, on the same address as 23 other Macedonian companies, experts noted that Mobility Package 1 rules apply in this situation. According to this document, the European Commission can ask a member state to conduct individual inspections in order to confirm whether the company meets all the necessary criteria, including whether it operates from the registered address. The European Union adopted the Mobility Package, set to come into effect at the beginning of 2022, to prevent illegal practices.