Serbian association ends blockade of freight border crossings

BELGRADE - The Belgrade-based business association Medjunarodni transport (International Transport) has announced it had ended a blockade of freight traffic at border crossings, imposed in protest against the EU's entry rules, and that transport of goods would be resumed.

In a statement, it said the blockade had been lifted at 3 pm Friday and that any further disruptions of freight transport chains would put Serbian manufacturing companies and citizens in a difficult position.

"We call on the European Commission, the Schengen (area) member states and European businesspeople that we, being now aware of the significance of uninterrupted transport chains, help to ensure that there are no more incomprehensible arrests and deportations of our drivers. We expect an outstretched hand on the other side, too, and treatment deserved by people who were the only ones who kept shipping goods to all of us in Europe in emergency situations such as the pandemic," the association said, noting that "supply chains must not become interrupted again."

It noted that, earlier in the day, the European Commission had said clearly and unequivocally for the first time that professional drivers were a special category of workers requiring longer stays in EU territory than 90 days within 180-day periods.

"It was said clearly that the EU would be working on a new visa strategy identifying our drivers as a special group for which 90-day stays are not sufficient. Since we had set an urgent change of treatment of professional drivers and transport companies in our countries during transport to, from and through Schengen states as the only objective of our protest, we believe that we have achieved our objective," the statement said.