Due to increased security risks, some European Union countries that belong to the Schengen zone have reintroduced controls at their borders.
This further slows down the transport of goods from Bosnia and Herzegovina, whose transporters have been waiting longer at the Croatian border than those from the EU. They say they already feel the losses.
Certain members of the European Union (EU) that belong to the so-called Schengen zone have reintroduced controls at their borders, due to the worsening security situation in the world. This was done first by Slovenia, strengthening its controls on the border with Croatia, and the negative repercussions on the economy of Bosnia and Herzegovina are already being felt.
Instead of a maximum of three, they now wait five days at the borders
Namely, as confirmed for Klix.ba, in the past few days carriers from Bosnia and Herzegovina started to wait significantly longer at the border. Instead of earlier waiting times from ten hours to three days, now that time interval has increased to five, which significantly increases costs.
“With the abolition of the Schengen zones at the border crossings of Croatia, Slovenia and Hungary, i.e. the introduction of selective controls, there was a standstill in traffic and waiting. Crowds have already started to form at Bregana, Macelj and other exits to the EU. Before this situation from Banja Luka or Sarajevo the goods were transported to Germany for three days, and now we need five. We need the same amount of time to return, which creates additional costs that we cannot calculate in the price of transport,” the president of the Association of Transporters for Domestic and International Transport told Klix.ba of RS Nikola Grbić
He states that in the coming period, control measures could be tightened at the Austrian and German borders, which will further complicate the situation for Bosnia and Herzegovina’s carriers.
The assumptions are that these controls could last until the end of November, but if they are extended, the interlocutor states that the consequences will be borne by the entire BiH economy, which will ultimately be felt by the citizens as well.
“Increasing prices would be realistic, but we have not been able to do it so far, primarily in the context of rising fuel prices. However, in this regard, especially if there is an extension of border control measures, something will have to be done, which is realistic. If if that price increases, it is expected that there will be an increase in the prices of products in supermarkets and other sales facilities, which will be felt by the end customers”, says Grbić.
Can Bosnia and Herzegovina do anything?
Economic indicators say that in our country, the average transport operator makes between nine and 12 thousand kilometers per month. Although they have little hope for it, due to the newly created situation, BH. On Monday, the carriers will send a letter to the Ministry of Communications and Transport of Bosnia and Herzegovina in order to solve all the problems they are facing.
“In the case of increased controls at the borders of European Union countries, Bosnia and Herzegovina as a country cannot do anything. But, on the other hand, we have other pressing problems that need to be solved, and among them is the departure of professional drivers. In the past few years, more than six and a half thousand professional drivers left our country, and that trend is still current,” adds Grbić.
Also, with the competent state minister, the transport companies want to discuss in general the improvement of conditions at border crossings, which are related to the improvement of the speed of the flow of vehicles at the terminals between our country and Croatia and Serbia.
“Each country in the surrounding area has excise taxes on fuel, with a certain percentage of reimbursement per liter consumed. But we don’t have that, nor did they manage to agree on it in the House of Peoples of Bosnia and Herzegovina,” Grbić points out, concluding that the carriers will also discuss the new problem that is coming, and it is an increase in the price of registration of cargo and passenger motor vehicles, Klix.ba reports.
