The Minister of Communications and Transport of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Edin Forto, today chaired a meeting of the Working Group for the Coordination of Activities Regarding the Problem of the Stay of BiH Drivers in the Schengen Zone at the BiH Institutions Building, where numerous operational issues that directly affect the international transport sector were discussed.
Forto emphasized that this was a working meeting focused on concrete solutions, emphasizing that the Working Group, in addition to its primary task of facilitating the stay of carriers in the Schengen area, also has the authority from the Council of Ministers to deal with internal issues, such as excise duty refunds, road toll discounts, and freight forwarding procedures and relations with customs services.
Forto said that he informed the participants of the meeting about the talks between the Chairperson of the Council of Ministers of BiH, Borjana Krišto, and the Prime Minister of Croatia, Andrej Plenković, and that, as Forto said, there is a possibility of introducing certain relief for drivers from BiH.
“We were told that through amendments to the Law on Foreigners of the Republic of Croatia, a special type of visa regime for drivers in international transport could be introduced. The law is currently in the process, but we cannot yet talk about the details or the timeframe for its implementation,” Forto emphasized.
The Working Group’s conclusion, as he added, is once again to insist on direct talks with the Croatian authorities in order to resolve the issue systematically.
Part of the meeting was also dedicated to customs procedures and the lack of staff, and one of the conclusions, as Forto stated, referred to the insufficient number of customs officers, which slows down processes, especially during periods of increased traffic and vacations.
“I will submit an official initiative to the Council of Ministers to budget and solve this problem, because this is something that the Council of Ministers can do,” Forto emphasized.
Representative of the BiH Logistics Consortium Zijad Šarić stated that they had learned that “Brussels will not change its position on drivers’ stay in the EU for up to 90 days in a period of 180 days”.
“So the only option left for us is bilateral negotiations, as previously announced, with countries in the region such as Slovenia, Croatia, Hungary, Germany, Austria, and we hope that this will bear fruit,” said Šarić.
He emphasized that certain initiatives have already been launched, especially in Croatia, relating to the establishment of branches for carriers from BiH.
He added that they have been asked to participate in discussions on models and ways to solve problems, in order to clearly define the conditions for doing business in EU countries.
Šarić also emphasized the need to strengthen consular protection for drivers, hire additional customs officers, and regulate the work of freight forwarding in order to reduce congestion at border crossings, Fena writes.
