URGENT REACTION EXPECTED: Businessmen United Against Closing GP Maljevac for Freight Traffic

(Patria) - Businessmen, carriers, and freight forwarders from USK have strongly protested and organized against the decision of the Croatian authorities to close GP Maljevac for freight transport. The initiative to involve BiH authorities in protecting businessmen and jobs in USK was launched by the Independent Bloc, whose president, Senad Šepić, requested an urgent reaction from the BiH Parliament and Council of Ministers, as well as a call to the Croatian authorities to review and change their decision.

These requests have been joined by the authorities of USK, the Government and the Assembly, and the federal minister of agriculture has also reacted.

One of the organizers of the joint struggle and gathering of businessmen from USK said that the Official Gazette of the Republic of Croatia published a Regulation on determining public roads on which transit traffic of freight vehicles must take place through HR, which entered into force today, May 20, 2021.

This decision, among other things, prohibits traffic for freight vehicles over 7.5 tons on the Karlovac - Hukića Brdo route, effectively closing that border crossing. This means that businessmen from Velika Kladuša, Cazin, Bužim... all those who exported/imported goods through that border crossing, will have additional costs, as goods must exit BiH at other points.

It is absurd that, by the same decision, they allowed transit to GP Dvor, where traffic for freight vehicles is not permitted. Freight forwarders of Velika Kladuša, businessmen of USK, and everyone connected to them, have experienced this as a direct attack on the economy of this region. It is incomprehensible that one country can make such a decision without consulting the diplomatic bodies of our country.

If consultations took place before the decision was adopted, the question arises as to why no one reacted to this problem.”

Therefore, businessmen and carriers have unanimously asked all relevant institutions in BiH to get involved in resolving this problem as soon as possible and announced that, otherwise, we will witness significant losses in our economy. An urgent reaction from the competent institutions in BiH is expected.