SARAJEVO, Jan. 26 (Xinhua) -- Hundreds of Bosnian freight truck drivers on Monday blocked cargo traffic at all freight-designated border crossings between Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and neighboring Croatia, a European Union (EU) member, in protest against EU travel rules.
The blockade began at noon at all eight freight crossings and targets the Schengen rule limiting non-EU citizens to 90 days of stay within 180 days, which trucking companies say treats professional drivers as tourists and disrupts freight transport, Mirko Ivanovic, owner of a trucking company in northern BiH and coordinator of the protest, told Xinhua.
Truckers warned the EU rule could paralyze the transport sector across the Western Balkans and said protests would continue unless professional drivers are exempted from visa limitations. They also voiced concern that the EU's upcoming rollout of the electronic Entry/Exit System could worsen border delays.
Access to blocked terminals is limited to vehicles carrying medicines, livestock and military supplies, while passenger traffic remains largely unaffected.
Trucking firms warned that continued EU rigidity could drive drivers out of the sector and harm the economy. Around 7 million tons of goods were transported between BiH and the EU by road annually.
