BETAPHOTO/SASA DJORDJEVIC
On Jan. 26 at noon, truck drivers from Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina blocked commercial border crossings with countries in the Schengen Area in protest of the new Entry-Exit System (EES), limiting temporary stays to a total of 90 out of every 180 consecutive days.
In Serbia, 15 border crossings were blocked, and freight companies have announced that they would not cease their protests and blockades until the problem is solved.
Nedjo Mandic, head of the Association of Transport Companies of Serbia, told BETA that the exit of trucks out of Serbia was blocked from noon, while the entry of trucks into Serbia would be blocked from midnight.
The protests ensued after months of appeals for talks with representatives of the European Commission to stop discrimination against professional drivers by enforcing the rule that they may spend only 90 days out of every 180 within the European Union.
The EES trial period lasts until April 10, which will mark the beginning of strict enforcement, including the deportation of anyone who exceeds the permitted number of days in the Schengen Area and vehicle seizure.
Mandic dismissed as unacceptable solutions proposed by the EC, like issuing stay permits or assigning truck drivers the status of cross-border workers, whose border crossings are for the most part not recorded, as this is not applicable in practice.
The Serbian Chamber of Commerce said in a press release on Jan. 26 that it was working with chambers in the Western Balkan region to solve the problem urgently and that a proposal had been made to introduce a special visa or permit for professional drivers covering the entire Schengen Area, increasing the day allotment or exempting the drivers from the EES system until a permanent solution is found.
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