The Minister of Communications and Transport of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Edin Forto, warned on the occasion of the coordinated protests of professional transporters from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia that this problem goes far beyond the transport sector and that it is necessary for all institutions to become more actively involved in solving these essential issues for the future of the transport sector.
The protests announced for September 14 at border crossings with the EU are the carriers’ response to the application of the Schengen rule of 90/180 days for professional drivers from the Western Balkans. Unlike earlier protests, this is now a coordinated action by carriers from four countries in the region, after previous protests in front of the Delegation of the European Union in Bosnia and Herzegovina did not result in a concrete solution.
“It is important to clearly state where this problem can be solved. Schengen rules are not adopted by BiH and our institutions cannot unilaterally change them. This is decided by the EU and the member states of the Schengen area, towards which these requirements are directed. Our job is to represent the interests of our carriers and use every political and diplomatic channel we have, but the solution must come from the European level,” Forto emphasized.
The role of BiH institutions, above all the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of BiH, the Ministry of Security of BiH, the Ministry of Communications and Transport of BiH and the Council of Ministers of BiH, is reflected in representing the interests of domestic carriers, leading diplomatic and professional initiatives and coordinating activities towards the institutions of the European Union in order to find an acceptable solution.
The Ministry of Communications and Transport of BiH opened the issue of professional drivers directly with the European Commission, initiated regional coordination, held several rounds of talks with European institutions and proposed concrete models for overcoming the problem. Discussions and initiatives were also held with the Republic of Croatia, as an EU member state on whose border this problem is particularly manifested.
In May, Croatia adopted amendments to the Law on Foreigners, which established the legal basis for the introduction of special long-term visas for professional drivers from Bosnia and Herzegovina and other countries in the region. Thus, as an EU member state, it recognized the specificity of international road traffic and the need for a different treatment of professional drivers compared to the general short-term stay regime. The publication of the rulebook is expected soon, which will enable the implementation of the amended law in practice.
However, the aforementioned solution does not represent the final elimination of the problem of applying the 90/180 day rule at the level of the entire Schengen area, which is why it is clear that carriers still require a systemic solution at the EU level.
“We understand why the carriers have reached this point. They have been warning about the problem for months, but there is still no concrete solution. That is why we now expect the European Commission to offer a solution before the consequences begin to be felt by the economies of the Western Balkans and the European Union,” said Forto.
The Ministry of Communications and Transport of Bosnia and Herzegovina called on carriers to, instead of protesting, start an even stronger dialogue with the European Commission and EU member states from September 14.
As it was pointed out in the Ministry’s statement, in the previous period certain developments were visible, such as the acceptance of arguments that professional drivers do not stay in the EU for tourism, do not represent a migrant risk, do not use social systems and enter the EU exclusively for the purpose of international transport.
In light of these developments, the Ministry of Communications and Transport of Bosnia and Herzegovina said that they expect the European Commission to make additional efforts to find an operational solution soon, in favor of further economic development, Fena writes.
