Transport operators begin blockade of freight border terminals with the EU

The blockade is a response to problems caused by the new EU Entry-Exit System (EES), as well as the long-standing 90/180 Schengen rule, which limits drivers’ stays in the EU to 90 days within a 180-day period. Transport operators say these rules directly threaten their right to work.

“Our drivers perform a type of work that requires them to spend significant time in the EU, yet they are treated as tourists. Under the 180-day rule, they are not allowed to spend more than 90 days in the EU, which is impossible for our profession,” said Mirko Ivanovic, protest coordinator.

He added that the protests would continue until their demands are met.

Earlier, Edin Causevic, director of the company Frigosped Zepce and a board member of the Logistics Consortium of Bosnia and Herzegovina, told N1 that the struggle of professional transport operators has been ongoing for years, but that blockades intensified after the EU rules on stay within the Union came into force.

Causevic stressed that the blockade of border crossings is being carried out simultaneously across the Western Balkans - in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, North Macedonia, and Montenegro - and that freight traffic is being halted, meaning there will be no imports or exports through EU border crossings during the protest.

Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Minister of Communications and Transport Edin Forto said on N1 that he understands the dissatisfaction of transport operators and supports their protest.

Asked what transport operators expect from the minister and state authorities, Forto said:

“Today, transport operators are not asking for favours - they are demanding their right to work. We are appealing to the EU and Brussels, and to all member states. What can our representatives do? They can act institutionally and jointly toward the European Commission and EU embassies in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Only through coordinated action can results be achieved.”