Hauliers from Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and Serbia are continuing blockades of freight border crossings, it was said this evening by the Bosnia and Herzegovina Logistics Consortium following a meeting held in Belgrade, after the European Commission announced a strategy aimed at resolving the problem of restrictions on the length of stay for professional drivers in the Schengen area.
Member of the Management Board of the Logistics Consortium, Zijad Šarić, told RTRS that hauliers from Bosnia and Herzegovina are seeking an urgent meeting with the Prime Ministers of the Republic of Srpska, Savo Minić, and of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Nermin Nikšić, as well as with the Chairwoman of the Council of Ministers, Borjana Krišto, in order to find a concrete and urgent solution to the problems they face in their daily work.
Šarić said that hauliers are particularly insisting on a meeting with Krišto so that she can exert pressure through MEP Željana Zovko in the European Parliament regarding drivers’ length of stay in the EU.
He said that a joint appeal to the EU is needed when it comes to resolving the issue of the length of stay of hauliers from the region in EU countries.
“We have also initiated a meeting with representatives of leading political parties in Bosnia and Herzegovina. We hope they will respond tomorrow,” Šarić said.
The European Commission has adopted a new visa strategy, within which a special regime will be considered that would allow hauliers to stay in the Schengen area for longer than 90 days, without the need for a work or residence permit, but under strict supervision and clearly defined rules.
The new strategy was adopted following blockades that hauliers from Western Balkan countries began on Monday, 26 January, in response to strict EU rules on staying in the Schengen area.
The new entry and exit system strictly limits the stay of drivers from non-EU countries to 90 days within a 180-day period, and due to the nature of their work, professional drivers reach this limit very quickly, after which they face deportation or a ban on entry into the EU.
Mandić: Meeting of hauliers from Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina tonight, lifting of blockades to be considered
The President of the Association of Hauliers of Serbia, Neđo Mandić, stated that a meeting of hauliers from Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina will be held tonight, at which the lifting of blockades at freight terminals at border crossings will be considered, after the European Commission announced that drivers would be allowed to stay in the Schengen area for longer than 90 days.
“We are in favour of suspending the blockades, but we still need to see the positions of Bosnian hauliers in order to make a final decision. After the meeting, around 9 pm, we will issue a joint statement to the media,” Mandić told Tanjug.
He added that hauliers from Bosnia and Herzegovina are arriving in Serbia, where the meeting will be held.
Mandić said that Serbian hauliers are satisfied with the EU visa strategy presented today, which envisages the introduction of new legislation with specific rules on extended short stays at EU level, but that there are still issues that need to be resolved. “We have scheduled meetings with important institutions for tomorrow in order to work on solving the problems, although this is already a sufficient reason to say that we have a good solution,” Mandić assessed.
Hauliers from Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and North Macedonia have been blocking freight traffic at crossings with Schengen countries for the fourth day due to rules limiting their stay in the Schengen area, while the Association of Hauliers of Montenegro earlier today decided to suspend the blockade following a meeting with representatives of that country’s government.
Hauliers previously warned that the application of the 90-in-180-day rule to professional drivers jeopardises their work and the survival of transport companies in Western Balkan countries.
In the European Union’s visa strategy, whose working version was presented today in Brussels, it is stated that professionals from third countries, such as lorry drivers, touring artists, athletes attending sporting events, experts working on cross-border projects, and labour supporting EU industries and services, need to stay in the EU longer than the permitted limit, without the intention of permanent settlement.
The document states that the EU will work closely with Member States to identify pragmatic solutions for extended short stays for selected categories of third-country nationals, ensuring security and economic benefits for the Union, as well as legal clarity for travellers.
Currently, EU law allows a stay in the Schengen area of up to 90 days within a 180-day period for both visa-free travellers and those who require a visa, and for any stay longer than 90 days a long-stay visa or residence permit issued by a Member State is required.
Roads of Serbia: Freight traffic blockades at 22 crossings
Drivers of freight motor vehicles are today again blocking 22 border crossings at exits and entrances for freight vehicles from Serbia, Roads of Serbia announced.
The company stated, citing data from the Border Police Directorate, that there are no longer delays for all categories of vehicles at other border crossings. It was stated that more than 20 border crossings are under blockade, namely the exits and entrances for freight motor vehicles at the border crossings of Batrovci, Šid, Bogojevo, Bačka Palanka, Bezdan, Neštin, Ljuba, Sot, Horgoš, Kelebija, Bački Breg, Vrška Čuka, Gradina, Strezimirovci, Ribarci, Mokranje, Srpska Crnja, Vatin, Kaluđerovo, Đerdap, Preševo and Prohor Pčinjski.
Hauliers from Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and North Macedonia have been blocking freight traffic at crossings with Schengen countries for the fourth day. The blockades began on Monday, 26 January at noon. Hauliers are protesting against the new entry and exit system of the European Union, which according to them limits drivers’ stay in the Schengen area, as well as against the inadequate response of European institutions.
The Head of the Centre for Regional Cooperation of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce, Aleksandar Radovanović, previously told Tanjug that it had been announced that the European Commission would today publish a working version of the new EU visa regime strategy, which would likely envisage professional drivers being placed in a category that might receive a special visa.
He also pointed out that a long-term procedure lies ahead for the adoption of that document and that it does not resolve the current situation, as the strategy could only come into force in about six months. Radovanović recalled that the basic demand of hauliers is to be allowed to do their job and to be treated as professional drivers, not as migrants.
“The key thing is that they are treated as professionals, not as tourists. The Exit Entry System is not the essential problem here. The essential problem is the Schengen rule that our drivers may stay in the Schengen area for 90 days within 180 days, which means that one of our drivers can work for half a year and then be paid for the next half a year without working, which does not correspond to an economically rational way of thinking,” Radovanović said.
(RTV, 29.01.2026)