DRIVERS PROTEST OUTSIDE EU DELEGATION BUILDING IN SARAJEVO

ISTOČNO SARAJEVO, AUGUST 31 /SRNA/ - Transport operators will hold protests today in front of the headquarters of the EU Delegation in Sarajevo, as well as in Serbia, Montenegro and North Macedonia.

The gathering of transport operators from BiH in front of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. At 11:30 a.m., the protest convoy will head towards the EU Delegation headquarters, where the protest will begin at noon.

Nikola Brković, a member of the Logistika Consortium, told SRNA that a parallel protest drive involving freight vehicles will also be organized through Sarajevo.

He said that the transport operators want to demonstrate through these protests that they will not give up on their demand that drivers no longer be treated as tourists or migrants in the EU.

Protests will also be held in countries across the region ahead of tomorrow’s European Commission meeting in Brussels, where the main topic will be transport operators from the Western Balkans whose stay in the Schengen area is being restricted.

"If nothing is resolved tomorrow and we receive a negative response from Brussels, we will organize protests at all border crossings with the EU, which are currently planned for September 14," Brković said.

Transport operators from Serbia, BiH, Montenegro and North Macedonia are calling on the EU to respond to their demand that professional drivers be granted conditions of stay adapted to the specific nature of their work.

Professional drivers point out that they do not stay in the Schengen countries as tourists, but for work, and therefore believe they should not be treated in the same way as travelers entering for tourist or private visits.