The president of the International Transport business association, Neđo Mandić, said tonight, February 15, that the European Union rejected all the proposals of carriers from the Western Balkans, which would solve the problem of their stay in the Schengen zone, and pointed out that the carriers have made a decision to block freight crossings again, but that the exact date of the new blockades is not known for now.
“The last meeting with them was disastrous. They didn’t accept anything we proposed, they just said – fit into the 90/180 rule, there’s no other way,” Mandic told Tanjug.
When asked whether carriers are thinking about blocking freight crossings again if they do not reach an agreement with the European Union soon, Mandić says that the decision has already been made, but coordination with carriers from other countries of the Western Balkans is awaited.
“We made the decision to go to the blockades again, but everything takes time, since we have to coordinate the procedure with our colleagues from other countries of the Western Balkans. Once we agree on the date, then we will determine the exact date. We have to meet and agree on all the details, so I don’t know when the blockades will start,” Mandic emphasized.
Compromises that were sent to the European Commission at the last meeting by the authorities from the Western Balkan region and transport companies were rejected with the comments “that they are impossible, too creative and contrary to the Schengen law”, while it was proposed that drivers report their stay in one of the closer EU member states, which was unacceptable for the transport companies, reported Montenegrin Vijesti.
The Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure Aleksandra Sofronijević said recently that the state will continue to seek a special status for professional truck drivers in the Schengen zone and added that the state’s demands are justified and reasonable.
Carriers from Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and North Macedonia blocked, in the period from January 26 to 30, crossings for cargo traffic due to strict EU rules on staying in the Schengen zone.
Carriers in the Western Balkans suspended blockades of cargo crossings after the European Commission began considering the possibility of introducing special visas for professional truck drivers, which would allow them to stay longer in EU countries and carry out their work unhindered.
The new system of entry and exit strictly limits the stay of drivers from non-EU countries to 90 days in a 180-day period, so due to the nature of their work, professional drivers reach this limit very quickly, after which they are threatened with deportation or a ban on entry into the EU.
Carriers have previously warned that the application of the 90 out of 180 days rule to professional drivers also threatens their work and the survival of transport companies in the countries of the Western Balkans.
In the proposed strategy of the European Union for visas, the working version of which was presented on January 29 in Brussels, it is stated that professionals from third countries, such as truck drivers, artists on tours, athletes attending sports events, experts working on cross-border projects, the workforce supporting EU industries and services, have the need to stay in the EU longer than the allowed limit, without the intention of permanent settlement, it says Press Media BiH.
