Representatives of the leading transport organizations of Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) jointly called on Saturday on domestic authorities and European Union (EU) institutions to finally resolve the alarming situation caused by the EU rules on drivers’ stays, which they say are making business conditions more difficult and threatening the survival of transport companies in the region. If the problem is not resolved by January 15th, they will announce radical measures.
Professional truck drivers from BiH have, for some time, had a problem with driving in the EU because, according to the law, they cannot stay in EU countries for more than 90 days within 180 days. For carriers, this rule brings numerous financial losses as well as other problems.
“For a company to be able to operate, it must have a driver. If there is no driver who works more than 15 days a month, it cannot exist. If there were drivers on the market, we would find twice as many – but now, when there are no drivers, and we can barely keep the ones we have, there aren’t enough drivers to cover the trucks,” says Nedjo Mandic, president of the business association ‘International Transport’ from Belgrade.
For around 500 carriers in BiH, this issue requires priority resolution. As they point out, they have addressed the authorities several times, but without effect.
“The stay of drivers in Europe is a problem for the economy, for industry, and a problem for all companies in BiH and Serbia. Thousands of vehicles leave BiH every day, and all these drivers are affected, and their days are being counted,” says Zijad Saric, from the ‘Logistika’ Consortium of BiH.
If the authorities do not take action by January 15th, carriers will announce radical measures.
“We expect results by January 15th. If not, then by that time we must take measures that will be joint at the level of BiH and Serbia. We appeal to the European Commission, we appeal to our governments, which we hope will finally do something and understand that BiH and Serbia have a common problem,” adds Zijad Saric.
Carriers assess that if the problem is not resolved, a collapse can be expected by April next year.
