Bosnian truck drivers blocked the Svilaj freight terminal at the border with Croatia on Monday, March 23, protesting the European Union's Entry/Exit System (EES) visa rules that limit their stays in the bloc to 90 days in any 180-day period, the same as tourists.www.arabnews.comkhaleejmag.comseenews.com The action also affected the nearby Orasje terminal, while police at Gradiska prevented a similar blockade. Protest organizer Hidajet Muratovic stated, “Our work has been made administratively impossible,” vowing to continue until receiving “concrete solutions, not just empty promises.”

The EES, rolled out since October and set for full enforcement on April 10, has imposed stricter checks at Croatia's border—shared with Bosnia since Croatia's 2013 EU entry—leading to many drivers being turned back. Balkan drivers view the system as discriminatory against professionals essential for regional trade, where road transport dominates; in Bosnia, it handles 93% of EU goods trade, valued at over 83 billion euros in 2024. This follows January blockades across Bosnia, Serbia, Montenegro, and North Macedonia, lifted after Brussels talks yielded no resolution; Serbian drivers have delayed action until April 10.

The protests underscore high economic stakes, with January disruptions costing Balkan economies around 100 million euros daily in lost exports, per the Serbian Chamber of Commerce. Officials report the Svilaj blockade persists amid police interventions elsewhere, highlighting ongoing tensions over EU mobility rules for non-member haulers.seenews.com