After Croatia enters the Schengen area, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) carriers will face a series of difficulties. The authorities should already start working on finding ways to reduce congestion at border crossings.
”The entry of the Republic of Croatia into Schengen is a new challenge that BiH will face, and it is quite justified to fear that this will further complicate the current situation at the border crossings in terms of the cross-border regime of goods, but also passengers,” Vjekoslav Vukovic, vice-president of the Foreign Trade Chamber of BiH, said in an interview.
“BiH has no experience in this regard, but there are lessons and experiences in the relations that existed on the border between Croatia and Slovenia. For this reason, the Foreign Trade Chamber of BiH invited colleagues from the Croatian Chamber of Commerce, as well as all interested businessmen who deal with transport and logistics, to a meeting in order to prepare for what awaits us,” he emphasized.
The experiences of Croatia and Slovenia, Vukovic points out, should point to a situation in which standards that entail a series of controls were applied.
”Those were traffic jams and queues. That’s what BiH is waiting for now. We and Croatia have 9 border crossings and 20 permanent crossings for border traffic in the international road transport of passengers. Out of those 9, Gradiska and Bijaca have special statuses where we have Border Inspections Posts (BIP), and these are crossings that have phytosanitary control. Now there are two, and we are fighting to get at least one more, a third… The reason for this is the fact that in the case of perishable goods such as fruits and vegetables, there is a delay because phytosanitary inspections from BiH work until 7 p.m., and those from Croatia until 3 p.m.,” Vukovic adds.
In practice, this means that if you arrive at the border crossing at 4 p.m., you have to wait until tomorrow morning.
Citizens can also expect longer waits at the borders with Croatia
Citizens will also face the challenges of long waits to cross the border. Longer waiting times when entering the Schengen zone and more detailed inspections at the borders have already been announced.
The following period will show whether the BiH authorities will do something concrete, or whether Croatia in Schengen will become a nightmare for drivers and businessmen, Klix.ba reports.
E.Dz.
