If by January 25 there are no concrete steps aimed at eliminating the discrimination implemented through the controversial rule 90/180, carriers from BiH and the region will make a definitive decision on the date and method of blocking roads towards the EU. This is the message from the plenum of the Logistics Consortium of BiH, which was held on Wednesday in Matuzići near Doboj, writes Avaz.
The plenum supported cooperation with carriers from Turkey, Serbia, Albania, Moldova, North Macedonia and Montenegro, who are facing the same problem, and the Ministry of Communications and Transport of BiH was asked to urgently establish coordination with representatives of the ministries of the countries of the region in preparation of a joint response to a contested rule within Schengen.
– In the event that there is no reaction and positive progress, we will have no other choice but to the extent that we can interrupt transport flows between countries by blocking cargo channels at EU border crossings with our countries. This is the last form of protection of our human rights as well as the rights of businessmen. The appeal that we send to you is the last hope for a normal solution and the removal of the barrier in the form of oppression of drivers, transporters and everyone who depends on our vehicles – it is stated in the conclusions.
Users of transport services in the countries of the region are already familiar with the intentions of the transport associations. Professional drivers from non-EU countries experience harassment and arrests, pay high fines, are denied entry into EU countries, and thus their right to work. In this way, domestic transport companies are left without drivers and are threatened with paralysis, all because of the rule according to which they can spend a maximum of 90 days in the course of 180 days in the EU, which they are unable to comply with.
– Taking into account that when counting the days of stay, even one minute spent in the Schengen territory is taken as one day of stay, and taking into account that there are long delays at the exits from the EU, which is why waiting in a line of vehicles is considered a stay, there is a multiplication of this problem. The daily arrests of professional drivers during the performance of their work tasks, their treatment as if they were perpetrators of criminal acts, and the flagrant ban on entry of drivers to the Schengen territory for a period of a few months to a few years are an attack on the humanity and dignity of people who are not transporting their own goods, but those of companies from EU countries. – warn from the BIH Logistics Consortium.
The plenum also adopted a conclusion demanding that the business conditions of transport companies in BiH be equalized with those in the countries of the Western Balkans. They are expecting the adoption of regulations to ensure a return of 50 percent of the funds collected on the basis of excise duties per liter of fuel, then a 50 percent discount on the use of highways in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and a reduction in vehicle registration costs. Through the current structure of fuel prices, they explain, with an average fuel consumption of 30 liters per 100 kilometers, it is necessary to allocate 22,500 KM per year for excise and tolls for each cargo vehicle.
