Bosnian truck drivers end protest, satisfied with government's promises

"From this moment on, we can say that the blockade has been suspended. We will now inform coordinators in all regions to pull back vehicles and restore normal traffic," Mirsad Durmić, one of the representatives of the Logistika BiH consortium, which brings together transport companies from Bosnia and Herzegovina, told the press in Sarajevo.

He made the statement after a meeting with the Prime Minister of the Federation of BiH, Nermin Nikšić, who promised to quickly review all the hauliers' demands.

"We will continue our cooperation on resolving the issues," said Nikšić.

Although they could not secure any guarantees regarding their demand to allow truck drivers from Bosnia and Herzegovina to work freely, that is, drive in the territories of EU member states, the hauliers were satisfied with the initial steps and the announcements of changes to regulations governing their work within the country, speeding up customs procedures, and simplifying the system for training and certifying new drivers.

BiH Minister of Transport and Communications, Edin Forto, pointed out that the issue of truck driver treatment could only be resolved by decisions made by the EU itself, and the only thing the countries of the Western Balkans could do was to seek this collectively and in coordination.

Truck drivers from BiH, as well as from other countries in the region, are allowed to work within the EU for only up to 90 days within six months. Any additional days beyond that result in fines and potential deportation, along with a long-term ban on entering the Schengen area.

Therefore, hauliers are requesting that their drivers be treated like airline crews, so that the rules applied to regular visitors and tourists in the EU should not apply to them.