All border crossings of Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina and North Macedonia by country Schengen zone they could be blocked from September 14 if a solution to the problem of limited stay is not found by then professional drivers in Schengen, announced the president of the Association of Carriers of Serbia "International Transport" Neđo Mandić.
Mandic said this at a gathering of more than 100 professional drivers in front of the EU Delegation in Belgrade, where the consequences of the current rules for international road transport were pointed out, writes Beta.
According to him, drivers are returning from the borders of the Schengen countries due to restrictions, while those who exceed the permitted stay may be deported. Such a situation, as he warned, endangers not only the drivers but also the goods they transport, because in some cases they are forced to leave the trucks unattended.
Mandic said that the carriers do not want protests and blockades, but expect a concrete signal from the European Union and a solution before September 14. If an agreement is reached, the announced protest activities would be cancelled.
The problem, as he explained, stems from the rule according to which citizens of non-Schengen countries can stay in that zone for a maximum of 90 days within the previous 180 days. Carriers believe that such a regulation, which dates back to 1985, treats professional drivers in the same way as other passengers, even though the nature of their work requires a significantly longer stay.
Mandić stated that individual drivers need between 120 and 130 days of stay in Schengen during a period of 180 days to perform international transport.
Photo: FoNetTruck driver protest
Bilateral agreements are inadequate
He assessed that solving the problem primarily depends on a political decision and that the corresponding regulations could be adopted relatively quickly. As an inadequate solution, he rejected the possibility of solving the problem through bilateral agreements with individual neighboring states, because such agreements would be valid only on their territories and would not solve the problem at the level of the entire Schengen area.
As one of the possibilities, Mandić mentioned the introduction of an electronic visa for professional drivers, but added that the procedure for its introduction has not yet been initiated.
The representatives of the carriers from Serbia announced that letters with the same requests and a request to solve the problem as soon as possible will be delivered to the EU delegations in Podgorica, Skopje and Sarajevo.
Mandic warned that the consequences of the existing restrictions could affect the entire road transport in the Western Balkans, not just professional drivers.
Freight forwarders, logisticians and bus carriers also provided support for the meeting in Belgrade. Mandić pointed out that the problem of the lack of drivers and the limitation of their stay in the Schengen zone is already reflected in passenger road traffic.
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