Western Balkan truck drivers today discuss the problem of limited stay in the Schengen zone

Professional truck drivers in international transport from Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and North Macedonia will hold a regional meeting in Skopje today on what they will do to solve the problem of limited stay in Schengen countries to 90 days in a 180-day period.

The president of the Serbian International Transport Association, Neđo Mandić, previously told Beta that the European Commission (EC) has not yet offered any solution for lifting this restriction.

Mandić announced a meeting with representatives of the relevant EU directorate for the end of this week to find a solution for exempting truck drivers from the EU 90/180 day rule.

He said that transport associations from Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and North Macedonia sent a letter to the EU and requested a meeting, suggesting Belgrade or Brussels as the venue for the talks, but that it would likely be held online, which, as he pointed out, is not an appropriate form for a problem such as the inability of drivers to perform their jobs throughout the year.

He stressed that the three relevant directors from the EU Directorate for Mobility and Transport are on vacation until August 12th, so the conversation is expected to take place after they return to work.

"Drivers from the Western Balkan countries who find themselves in the Schengen zone are still being deported, and trucks are being detained even after April 10th of this year, when it was agreed with the European Commission to 'erase (zero) the days spent in the Schengen zone up to that date and start a new count. Those drivers who have fulfilled the 90-day quota in the last six months are still unable to enter Croatia, Hungary or Romania," said Mandić.

He added that since the introduction of the 90/180 rule in October 2025 for the stay of carriers in the Schengen zone countries, which, in addition to EU countries, also includes Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Monaco, San Marino and the Vatican in October 2025, nothing has changed to enable carriers to carry out international transport.

At the end of January 2026, carriers from Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina blocked the cargo terminals of border crossings for four days, but no solution was found to exempt them from the limited stay in the Schengen Agreement countries.

The EU introduced the 90/180 rule to prevent an uncontrolled influx of migrants, thereby equating the status of professional truck drivers in international transport to that of tourists.

After the last meeting of transport companies from the Western Balkans, international transport companies offered the European Commission August 10, 2026 as a deadline to respond on how to solve the problem of these drivers, but they did not receive a response.