On March 23, carriers from Bosnia and Herzegovina will join the regional blockade of border crossings for freight traffic due to unresolved problems related to the residence of drivers in the European Union. This conclusion was reached at today’s plenum session of the BiH Logistics Consortium, held in the municipality of Doboj Jug.
The carrier’s representative, Zijad Šarić, told reporters that passenger traffic will not be blocked, while the import of goods into Bosnia and Herzegovina will be allowed for 72 hours, after which the blockades should begin.
Agreed date
Šarić clarified that today’s plenum session was convened after the regional meeting held yesterday in Belgrade, in which carriers from Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina and North Macedonia participated. At that meeting, it was agreed that the blockade of the border crossings would begin on March 23.
He added that he was satisfied that the representatives from Serbia, who had previously planned to organize protests on April 14, accepted that date.
The protests will not stop until our demands are met. So, the biggest problem is the 90/180 day rule, then returning from the border crossings with Croatia, arresting and harassing our drivers – said Šarić.
He pointed out that he is not satisfied with Croatia’s proposal to solve the problem by issuing visas, and stated that between 20 and 100 drivers return from the border with that country every day.
Consortium member Dino Durmić from Doboj said that the problems with Croatia are particularly pronounced on its northern borders. He believes that the 90/180 rule is a political, not a security issue, because it does not apply to Serbia.
Nikola Brković, a member of the Consortium from Prijedor, said that so far the internal issues that were previously agreed with the institutions at the level of entities and Bosnia and Herzegovina have not been resolved.
Key issues
He cited the return of part of the excise tax, the return of VAT from foreign countries, as well as the reduction of waiting times at borders by at least 50 percent as key problems.
Brković also pointed to the problem that arises in the event of the loss of a license plate on a vehicle, because in order to issue a new one, it is necessary to secure about 1,000 KM.
The participants of the plenum said that the decision to block freight traffic is a question of their existence.
