Freight transport associations continue blockades of border crossings – Only certain goods passing through

The President of the Serbian Transport Association, Nedjo Mandic, said that the blockade of Serbia’s border crossings with EU and Schengen countries had continued on January 28, and that only certain goods that could not wait were being allowed to pass through, namely chemicals and animals.

– There are guards at the borders, only goods approved by the crisis headquarters are allowed to pass through, so, for example, a truck with ammonia is allowed to enter, and sulfur is being exported to all EU countries, which is transported at a temperature of 140 degrees and cannot be held up – Mandic told Beta.

Drivers of international freight transport companies had been protesting for the third day as of yesterday, dissatisfied with the new Entry/Exit system (EES) introduced by 29 EU and Schengen countries, which limits their stay in those countries to 90 days in a six-month period.

The EES was introduced in early October 2025, with a trial period lasting until April 10, 2026, and provides for electronic control at the borders of the Schengen area. In the event of exceeding the 90-day stay within a 180-day period, the drivers’ trucks are confiscated and they are deported.

Mandic said that two border crossings to Bulgaria were also blocked, through which some transporters, under pressure from the owners of the goods, had tried to leave Serbia the day before.

He pointed out that they had spoken with representatives of several chambers of commerce, German, Italian, Austrian, American, and that they were all “acting within their capabilities” in search of a solution to the problem.

– We will remain persistent in our protest until the solution contains a guarantee that transporters can do their job. Every day we have a problem with the deportation of drivers for exceeding the permitted stay of drivers in the Schengen Agreement countries.

Recently, nine drivers were deported from the German port of Rostock in seven days, as soon as they disembarked from their trip to Norway – said Mandic.

He added that the trucks had been left in the parking lot, unsecured, and that there had been a risk of theft of both the goods and the trucks.

He stated that a solution was expected from the European Commission perhaps that day and that transporters had proposed several solutions, including issuing drivers a long-term driver’s visa for all Schengen countries.

He pointed out that “visas remind us of the bad times when they had to be applied for, so it is not a good solution, but it is acceptable.”

PU Međunarodni Transport Beograd

Serbian Transport Association

EU

EES

Schengen Agreement

European Commission

Neđo Mandić

border crossing

goods transport

visas