Haulage operators to protest at EU Delegation in Skopje on 31 August

North Macedonian freight carriers will stage a demonstration on 31 August in front of the Delegation of the European Union in Skopje to protest limits on the time professional drivers may spend inside the Schengen area under the 90/180 rule.

The organizers, company Makam-Trans, announced the action will take place from 12:00 to 14:00. They expect participants to include transport operators, drivers and representatives of haulage firms, and plan for at least 20 freight trucks to arrive at the EU Delegation's premises.

Regional coordination ahead of Brussels talks

Simultaneous demonstrations are also scheduled in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro, arranged to precede a meeting of a working group in Brussels on 1 September that will discuss the difficulties professional drivers face under the 90/180 rule.

Makam-Trans says that if the Brussels meeting fails to produce a transitional solution, carriers will step up protests with coordinated actions at border crossings starting on 14 September. Such an escalation would require the agreement of carriers in each country and permits from responsible authorities.

The dispute stems from application of the 90/180 rule, which limits non-EU nationals to a maximum of 90 days in any 180-day period in the Schengen area. With the introduction of electronic entry and exit recording, professional drivers are encountering the restriction more strictly. Carriers argue these drivers do not remain in the Schengen area as tourists but that their "stay" there is, in fact, their workplace, and they want the drivers' professional status taken into account when the rules are applied.

Photo: press material from the event