The action may affect several freight border terminals and could have a direct impact on European supply chains, particularly on transit routes linking the Western Balkans with the EU.
The planned protest involves Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and North Macedonia. According to the organisers, the action will apply exclusively to freight traffic, while passenger traffic will not be restricted. The blockades have been announced in advance and are expected to last at least seven days.
Regional hauliers’ associations say they opted for coordinated action after repeated requests submitted to the European Union failed to bring about any substantive changes to the current rules governing professional drivers.
What triggered the protest?
At the centre of the dispute is the Schengen 90/180-day stay rule, which authorities apply to professional truck drivers who are considered non-EU nationals. Under the rule, drivers may not remain in the Schengen area for more than 90 days within any 180-day period, even when entering EU territory strictly for work purposes.
Hauliers’ organisations argue that the current legal interpretation:
- does not distinguish between tourists and professional drivers,
- treats drivers entering for work under migration rules,
- makes longer-term and predictable international transport assignments unworkable, despite drivers’ role in sustaining the European economy.
Legal status, not border checks, at issue
The protest coincides with the rollout of the EU Entry/Exit System (EES), the EU’s new digital system designed to record the entry and exit of non-EU nationals.
Hauliers stress that they are not protesting against digitisation or border checks, but against the fact that professional drivers are not treated as a distinct legal category within the system.
Representative bodies say they have repeatedly asked the European Commission to introduce work-specific rules for professional drivers, aligned with the realities of international road transport. Those requests have so far been rejected.
Near-total freight shutdown, limited exemptions
According to hauliers’ organisations, an almost complete shutdown of freight traffic can be expected at the affected border crossings and terminals during the protest period.
Only a narrow range of shipments will be exempt from the blockades:
- live animals,
- medicines,
- humanitarian aid,
- weapons, ammunition and explosives.
All other import and export traffic may be halted. Organisers describe the action as a necessary pressure tactic to force the launch of meaningful negotiations on revising the rules.
Key EU border crossings affected
- On the Serbian side, the planned blockades may affect freight border crossings with several EU member states, including:
- Hungary (Horgoš–Röszke, Kelebija–Tompa),
- Croatia (Batrovci–Bajakovo),
- Romania (Vršac–Moravița),
- Bulgaria (Gradina–Kalotina).
Additional crossings with Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and North Macedonia may also be affected, depending on how the action develops.
Serbian transport organisations have said that, if deemed necessary, border crossings in the province of Kosovo and Metohija could also be included in the protest.
Risk to EU supply chains
Hauliers warn that a prolonged blockade could cause immediate disruptions to EU supply chains, particularly along key transit corridors running through the Western Balkans.
At the same time, organisers emphasise that their aim is not to cause economic damage but to secure formal talks on clarifying the legal status of professional drivers operating in international road transport.
Further details are expected in the coming days from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and North Macedonia regarding the exact border crossings and routes to be included in the action.
