14 minutes agoTruck drivers in the Balkans block border crossings, that's what they demand
Periskopi(6 months ago)
(6 months ago)In protest of the consequences of the new EU digital system for truck access to Schengen space, truck drivers in some Balkan countries have again blocked border crossings. On Wednesday (28.01.26) on the third day of the protest, dozens of border crossings were blocked in Bosnia, Montenegro and Macedonia and [...]
In protest of the consequences of the new EU digital system for truck access to Schengen space, truck drivers in some Balkan countries have again blocked border crossings.
On Wednesday (28.01.26) on the third day of the protest, dozens of border crossings in Bosnia, Montenegro and northern Macedonia were blocked. Even Serbian drivers blocked border crossings to Schengen space, creating long rows of trucks.
At the Bayakovo border crossing, the most important border crossing between Croatia and Serbia, trucks on Wednesday created a two-km-long convoy, as police confirmed to the AFP news agency. The Serbian Chamber of Commerce CCIS complained that Western Balkan economies are daily losing about 100m euros in export value.
Driver Arrests Cause for Border Blocks
Speciation associations co-ordinated the protest shares against the digital system applied since October for the inflows of persons from non-EU countries. The Entry/Exit-System (EES) system aims to avoid stamps on passports by digitally recording in a central registry of all Schengen space information for travel and the main biometric data with the application of this system is the protection of EU external borders.
The protest's background concerns the fact that, according to the CCIS, drivers have recently been arrested repeatedly, who have violated the 90-day residence regulation within the 180-day timetable in the EU. This regulation is not new, but through electronic system. EES A stricter control of the exchangers outside the EU is allowed.
As a condition for abolishing the blockade, organisers seek to negotiate on exclusive rules to at least be guaranteed, that there will be no driver arrests.
EU Key Trade Partner for Western Balkans
On Monday (26.01.2026) the EU Commission's spokesman communicated that Brussels authorities are aware of the concerns expressed, and are carefully following the situation. According to EU data, the main trade partner for Western Balkan countries is the EU, with 60 per cent of the entire volume of trade in the region. In 2024 the trade of goods between the EU and the Western Balkans reached a volume of over 83 billion euros./ DW/ Periscope.
