Western Balkans truckers threaten border blockades after Brussels ignores deadline

International carriers from North Macedonia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro have warned they will carry out border blockades after the European Commission failed to meet a deadline set by transport associations for concrete solutions by 10 August 2026 over restrictions on professional drivers’ stays in the Schengen area.

The sector says it is particularly angered by the Commission’s offer to hold talks online, noting that key staff — including the three directors at the EU Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport — are reportedly on annual leave until 12 August, which carriers view as an unserious response to an urgent problem.

Transporters trace the crisis to October last year, when the EU began strict enforcement of the Schengen “90/180 days” rule for truck drivers from non-EU countries. The regulation now treats professional drivers the same way as ordinary tourists, allowing a maximum of 90 days’ presence inside the Schengen area within any 180-day period.

Field protests and a regional meeting

Although a temporary agreement was reached on 10 April that envisaged “erasing” previously spent days in Schengen and starting a new count, carriers say that agreement is not being respected in practice. Drivers who have already exhausted the 90-day quota in the past six months are reportedly being turned away at borders and denied entry to Croatia, Hungary and Romania; some face deportation and their trucks are detained, causing millions in losses to business.

The associations from the four countries have scheduled an urgent regional meeting for 11 August in North Macedonia to coordinate next steps. If the assembly decides to escalate, organisers say the actions will include mass protests and coordinated blockades of freight traffic across the Western Balkans — not isolated local actions — aimed at stopping goods flows between the EU and Southeastern Europe during the summer peak to force Brussels to urgently suspend the contested rule.

Transport representatives recall a four-day blockade of freight terminals at the end of January this year that served as a warning but did not produce a lasting solution. Neđo Mandić, president of the Association for International Transport of Serbia, confirmed that the associations sent an official letter asking for an urgent meeting, proposing it be held in Belgrade or in Brussels; carriers say the Commission’s reply — offering an online meeting late next week because key personnel are on holiday until 12 August — deepened their frustration.

Photo: press material from the event