Joint action and urgent meetings, with concrete solutions – otherwise, around four thousand rolling stock units will be directed towards the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina. This is one of the conclusions of the Consortium “Logistics of Bosnia and Herzegovina”, while transporters have been slowing down and blocking several border crossings since the morning. The crisis headquarters is in permanent session. They are seeking solutions to the accumulated problems because, with their tourist status in the European Union, their work is made more difficult.
Blockades at the borders
As of this morning, columns of trucks have been at several border crossings – mostly in Izačić near Bihać, Velika Kladuša and Svilaj near Orašje. Transporters are not giving up on the demands they have been sending to all levels of government in Bosnia and Herzegovina for months and are warning of constant problems at the borders.
Nedim Štilić, a driver from Gračanica, said that transporters are facing unpredictable procedures: “They are playing with us at the borders. They are sending us back. They charged me 99 days and sent me back. What can I do now but protest,” said Štilić.
Armin Šaponjić, a representative of the BHL company for international transport of goods, stressed that the key demand is the right to work: “The primary goal is the right to work 90-180. We know that the state does not influence this, but we are here to draw attention to ourselves. We have other demands. This was best seen yesterday, when people waited in cars from nine to twelve,” said Šaponjić.
Although it was expected that the largest queue and blockade would be at the Gradiška border crossing, this did not happen, after the ban by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Government of RS. The drivers were not ready to make statements, and not many of them gathered near the most frequent crossing to the European Union.
Police officers, just in case, checked the identification of the transporters and checked whether they were present for the protest, or whether they were violating the ban on gatherings.
Negotiations in the Government
During that time, representatives of the Consortium “Logistics of Bosnia and Herzegovina” went to the RS Government building for negotiations. They announced that they would give additional time due to the situation with oil prices.
They are demanding that a joint meeting of representatives of the entity and state authorities with transporters be held at the Gradiška Border Crossing on Wednesday.
Dino Durmić, a representative of the Consortium “Logistics of Bosnia and Herzegovina”, emphasized that responsibilities are divided: “The conclusion is that most of our problems are jointly responsible for both governments and the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina. If an institution does not respond to the meeting, we will be forced to direct our protests towards those institutions,” said Durmić.
Savo Minić, the Prime Minister of the RS (SNSD), said that the authorities remain open to talks: “We are absolutely available, but we will not allow irreparable damage to occur, which we must not even think about,” said Minić.
Unified action
An agreement was reached on one request – as of April 1, a unified and coordinated action of the Veterinary Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Indirect Taxation Administration of Bosnia and Herzegovina will be established throughout the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which should significantly reduce delays at the borders.
Transporters warn that they currently have 1,500 rolling stock available for protests, and that by Wednesday that number will be increased to 4,000, which, if no agreement is reached, will be directed towards the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
