Balkan Truckers Threaten EU Border Blockades Over Schengen Stay Limits

Truckers from Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia have announced plans to close their countries’ border crossings with the European Union on Sept. 14.

The drivers say they will act unless Brussels changes the rule that limits their stay in the Schengen free-movement area to 90 days in any 180-day period. The same limit applies to tourists and temporary residents from countries outside the European Union.

Zijad Saric, head of a Bosnian professional association, said the drivers should not be treated as migrants. “The drivers are not migrants. They are properly registered with companies in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro and North Macedonia, and all they want is to do their jobs, nothing more,” he said at a protest outside the EU headquarters in Sarajevo.

Similar protests took place simultaneously in the other three countries. A comparable action occurred from Jan. 25 to 30.

Drivers who exceed the 90-day limit within a 180-day period can face fines, detention or deportation, according to the report. Unions and professional associations want the limit raised to 125 or 130 days, which would not need to be consecutive, within a six-month period.

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The drivers are not migrants. They are properly registered with companies in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro and North Macedonia, and all they want is to do their jobs, nothing more.