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Western Balkans transport dispute over Schengen rules

Updated 5 times since CLSTR started tracking revisions of this situation.

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2026-08-25 00:26 UTC → 2026-08-25 13:54 UTC · added removed

Truck drivers from Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and North Macedonia are protesting the European Commission’s enforcement of the 90/180-day stay rule within the Schengen area. Introduced in October 2025 to curb irregular migration, the regulation treats professional drivers as tourists, limiting their stay to 90 days within any 180-day period. Drivers report that a temporary agreement reached on 10 April 2026, intended to reset these counts, is not being respected. This has led to repeated deportations and the detention of trucks at borders including Croatia, Hungary, and Romania. Transport associations have threatened mass protests and border blockades to prevent multimillion-euro losses in losses. In response to the regional transport sector. Approximately 100,000 drivers ongoing crisis, companies across the Western Balkans are affected. Regional representatives met in Skopje to discuss the issue, noting that the current rule leads to risks of deportation, fines, and unpredictable border delays. Carriers have proposed using tachograph data to distinguish professional driving time from tourist stays, specifically suggesting that stay duration be calculated by actual hours and minutes rather than full days. Transport associations have agreed to delay announced coordinated regional protests until 1 September, following a scheduled meeting with EU representatives. for 31 August. In contrast Bosnia and Herzegovina, protesters plan to gather at the call for regional unity, Parliamentary Assembly in Sarajevo before marching to the EU Delegation building with a convoy of heavy goods vehicles. Similar demonstrations are scheduled in Serbia, Montenegro, and North Macedonian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Nikoloski stated that his government is pursuing individual bilateral agreements Macedonia, with Schengen members such as Switzerland, Croatia, participants gathering in front of EU delegations between 12:00 and Romania to secure long-term work visas. He emphasized that while 14:00. Industry representatives, including the government seeks individual solutions, ‘Logistika BiH’ Consortium and the “ultimate responsibility for ‘Makam-trans’ Association, demand a systemic fix lies with specific professional status to exempt drivers from tourist-based restrictions. If the European Union.” As of late August, drivers Commission does not provide a solution during a working group meeting in Brussels on 1 September, transport companies have organized coordinated protests for 31 August threatened to voice grievances regarding the EU’s Entry/Exit System (EES). A demonstration is planned in front of escalate actions by blocking all border crossings with the EU Delegation headquarters in Skopje involving at least 20 heavy goods vehicles. EU, potentially starting as early as 14 September.

Versions

  1. 2026-08-25 13:54 UTC Western Balkans transport dispute over Schengen rules
  2. 2026-08-25 00:26 UTC Western Balkans transport dispute over Schengen rules
  3. 2026-08-12 06:02 UTC Western Balkans transport dispute over Schengen rules
  4. 2026-08-11 16:22 UTC Western Balkans transport dispute over Schengen rules
  5. 2026-08-11 15:34 UTC Western Balkans transport dispute over Schengen rules
  6. 2026-08-10 15:22 UTC Western Balkans transport dispute over Schengen rules

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