Truck drivers in Bosnia-Herzegovina blocked the movement of all goods in the country on Monday, protesting what they said was the government's failure to support the transport sector, while also expressing dissatisfaction with a 90-day cap on continuous stay in the European Union.
Approximately 600 trucks were parked near cargo customs terminals in several towns, including the capital, Sarajevo, as well as near the borders with Croatia and Serbia.
Passenger traffic has not been blocked, but it has slowed, according to Bosnia's motor vehicle club, BIHAMK.
Logistika, a body representing 47,000 workers in the transport sector, organized the protests under the slogan "That's enough" after months of negotiations with Bosnia's numerous layers of government yielded no results, it said.
"Our supply chains have been halted across the country," Velimir Peulic, Logistika's chief coordinator, told a news conference.
Logistika, which represents 600 companies, wants the central government to address administrative barriers and excessive taxes that it says threaten the survival of a sector worth 4.7 billion euros ($5.50 billion).
One key problem is a 90-day cap set by the EU on the amount of time Bosnian truck drivers can stay in the bloc without leaving, out of 180 days permitted annually.
This, Peulic said, has forced many companies to re-register in neighboring EU member states, such as Croatia and Slovenia, and has led many Bosnian drivers to leave their country.
"Stop arresting us in the EU," he said, adding that 48 Bosnian drivers had been detained across the EU for exceeding the 90-day limit even though they were only doing their job.
The truck drivers also want a refund of excise taxes on oil, shorter border procedures, and greater digitalization that would cut through red tape and long queues.
Bosnia-Herzegovina's Communications and Transportation Ministry said that it had begun addressing some of the administrative barriers and procedures to complete them by next month.
Peulic said negotiations with the government would continue, and so would the protests.
