Truck drivers from the Western Balkans have protested European Union rules on entry and exit, and threatened to block regional border points next month unless their grievances are heard. Hundreds of truckers gathered at locations across four Western Balkan states on Monday, demanding changes to rules that limit drivers from outside the Schengen area to 90 days in the border-free zone within any 180-day period. The drivers, hailing from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro and North Macedonia, warned they will block border crossings with the EU on September 14 if Brussels fails to exempt them from the Schengen limits.
The dispute has intensified with the rollout of the EU’s Entry/Exit System, operational as of April, which electronically records the entry and exit of non-EU nationals. The system makes it easier to track how long drivers spend inside the Schengen zone, which includes 25 EU states. Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland are also part of the zone despite not being EU members.
The European Commission said earlier this year that it was in contact with partners in the Western Balkans in an effort to find a solution to the issue. One option under discussion is a system of bilateral agreements between individual Western Balkan countries and EU member states. North Macedonia, for example, has agreed to bilateral arrangements with Croatia, Switzerland and Romania, with other such agreements expected in the future.
But the drivers say Brussels has yet to offer an acceptable proposal, and are calling for a solution that would cover all of the Schengen countries. The European Union is the biggest trading partner of the Western Balkans, accounting for more than 60 percent of the region’s total trade last year, according to the European Council. Serbia, the region’s largest economy, recorded total foreign trade worth over 39 billion euros ($45bn) in the first half of this year.
Of that, 58 percent was trade with EU countries. Bosnia and Herzegovina also relies heavily on trade with the EU, with trade in the first quarter of 2026 totalling 5.6 billion euros ($6.5bn). Any potential border blockade could therefore have consequences extending far beyond the transport sector itself.
It is feared that a prolonged blockade could delay exports and imports, including food, fuel, medicines, industrial components and consumer goods, while leaving trucks stranded at border crossings and raising costs for businesses and consumers. For example, Bosnia and Herzegovina’s meat supplies depend heavily on imports. The region’s truck drivers have already demonstrated their ability to disrupt trade.
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