Truck drivers from Serbia, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Bosnia & Herzegovina are considering new blockades of cargo border crossings after the European Union rejected all proposals aimed at easing restrictions on their stay in the Schengen area, local media reported on February 16.

The president of the International Transport of Serbia business association, Nedjo Mandic, said that the EU had dismissed suggestions by professional drivers from the Western Balkans to introduce at least a temporary solution to the 90/180 rule, which limits stays in the Schengen zone to 90 days within a six-month period, Beta agency reported.

“All our proposals were rejected, with the explanation that they were ‘imaginative’, which shows there is no intention to change anything in the EES system,” Mandic told the agency.

He added that while a new meeting with EU representatives has been scheduled in two weeks, drivers’ associations remain unclear about its purpose.

Under the Entry/Exit System (EES), truck drivers from the Western Balkans are subject to strict electronic monitoring of entry and exit, unlike the previous passport-stamp system. Industry representatives warn the rules effectively halve drivers’ working time and worsen labour shortages, while raising costs for transport firms.

Mandic said ten drivers were recently turned back at the Svilaj border crossing between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia for exceeding the permitted stay.

Associations from Serbia, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina are now coordinating next steps, including the timing of a possible new protest. Albania may also support the action.

The EU introduced the electronic system on a trial basis in October, with full implementation due after April 10. During the trial period, dozens of drivers have reportedly been detained or deported, prompting four days of border blockades across the region in late January.

Truck drivers across the Western Balkans lifted blockades at key border crossings on January 29 and 30 after the European Commission signalled it would revise visa rules for professional drivers, easing disruptions that had snarled freight traffic for days.