The “Logistics of BiH” consortium, which gathers transporters, announced on Monday, January 26, a regional protest of the transport sector at EU cargo border crossings due to accumulated problems related to the stay of drivers in the Schengen countries, and the latest is the new EU entry system.
The main coordinator of the Consortium, Velibor Peulić, told Srna that the goal of the protest is not destabilization, but the urgent initiation of a professional, systemic and sustainable solution in cooperation with the competent institutions and the European Commission.
According to him, this sector, after a long-term, patient and institutionally responsible approach, along with many years of communication with competent domestic and European institutions, has been brought to a situation where there is no longer a realistic possibility of further postponing the solution of problems that directly threaten the right to work of professional drivers and the stability of supply chains.
He stated that during the protest, which begins at 12:00 p.m., the entry and exit of cargo vehicles to EU member states, including transit transport in that direction, will not be allowed, except for the needs of medical protection, military units and live animals.
According to him, professional drivers from Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as Serbia, North Macedonia and Montenegro, are exposed to unacceptable pressures, including arrests, deportations and bans from entering the Schengen area for a period of two months to two years.
Peulić pointed out that drivers do not represent illegal migrants, a security threat or an illegal workforce, but a key operational segment of European and regional supply chains.
This practice, he emphasized, creates a serious inequality between carriers from the EU and carriers from non-EU countries, and leads to the closure of companies, the loss of drivers due to their chronic shortage and the forced relocation of business to EU member states.
“This is no longer a question of interpretation, nor of the technical application of information systems. This is a question of the survival of domestic carriers, the right to work and the preservation of the economic sovereignty of BiH in a segment that is directly related to the functioning of supply chains and the overall economy,” said Peulić.
According to him, the previous support of the Council of Ministers and the Ministry of Communications and Transport of BiH is recognized and appreciated, but it is not enough if it is not translated into direct, strong and visible action towards the European Commission.
He stated that the Consortium invites the Ministry of Communications and Transport of BiH to officially and at the highest level address the European Commission with a request for a written, unique and binding interpretation, to use all the mechanisms available to BiH through the Stabilization and Association Agreement and other international agreements as well as political dialogue.
Peulić warned that if no action is taken now, it will not be possible to remediate the consequences later, there will be no time for corrections, because domestic carriers will already be suppressed, shut down or forced to relocate.
“If there is no reaction at this moment, later it will no longer be possible to talk about ‘omissions’, ‘misunderstandings’ or ‘different interpretations’. It will be a matter of conscious inaction and its consequences”, concluded Peulić and added that this is no longer technical or procedural, but a question of the survival of domestic transport companies, and that any further delay or passivity means tacit acceptance of the elimination of domestic transport companies, he writes Klix.
