EU proposes special visas for professional drivers from non-Schengen countries

The new visa strategy published by the European Union envisages a systemic solution for professional drivers from non-Schengen countries in the form of special visas. For the first time, the European Commission explicitly mentions truck drivers from third countries as one of the professional categories for which new rules for extended short-term stays in the Schengen area could be introduced, Blic Business has learned from sources close to the EU.

In a strategic analysis published today, the Commission states that the current regime of 90 days of stay in a 180-day period creates serious problems for sectors that depend on constant cross-border mobility, including freight transport, which is an issue of particular importance for the Western Balkan countries. The European Commission document states that current EU rules allow stays in Schengen for up to 90 days within 180 days, while any longer stay requires a long-term visa or residence permit. However, the Commission notes that certain categories of professionals from third countries, who are highly dependent on frequent mobility between Member States, need to stay in the EU for longer than the permitted period, without the intention of settling permanently.

These categories explicitly include truck drivers providing services for companies in the European Union, as well as touring artists, athletes and experts involved in cross-border projects. For the Western Balkan countries, and in particular Serbia, this issue is particularly acute, as a large part of freight traffic to the EU is carried out by drivers who are not nationals of Member States. Residence restrictions, combined with long waiting times at borders, lead to work interruptions, additional costs and reduced competitiveness for transport companies from the region.

The Commission states in the document that the existing system is further complicated by bilateral agreements concluded by individual Member States before the entry into force of the Schengen rules, which allow stays of more than 90 days only on the territory of a specific country. Such solutions, it is assessed, undermine the uniform application of the Schengen system. The European Commission announces that it will work with Member States to find pragmatic solutions that would allow for extended short-term stays for selected categories of third-country nationals, while preserving security standards and economic benefits for the EU.

In this context, the Commission is also considering the possibility of introducing a new legislative framework at EU level, with a particular focus on extended short-term stay rules, as well as the gradual abolition of existing bilateral agreements that deviate from the uniform Schengen rules. The document emphasizes that for now, these are strategic considerations and analysis, and that any changes to the rules will depend on further negotiations between the European Commission and the Member States.

One of the next steps is to consider new rules for extended short-term stays for professionals from third countries, including truck drivers. For the transport sector in the Western Balkans, this announcement represents the first clear signal from Brussels that the problem of the stay of professional drivers is being recognized at EU level, at a time when protests and border blockades due to the implementation of the Schengen rules have become a regional issue.

Transporters from Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and North Macedonia have been blocking freight traffic at crossings with Schengen countries for the fourth day, and today transporters from Montenegro lifted the blockades after reaching an agreement with the authorities in that country.