Forto: No political will in the EU for driver residency

(Patria) - The second meeting of the working group organized by the European Commission to consider the implications of applying the Entry/Exit System (EES) to professional drivers from Western Balkan countries was held today.

During the meeting, the European Commission expressed concern over the announced protests in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia, which have already caused significant disruptions in supply chains.

They also confirmed that changing the method of calculating residency is not possible and that any flexibility can only be considered at the national level.

- Unfortunately, today's meeting did not lead to a concrete solution either. We asked the European Commission for a more pragmatic approach because they can act by adopting an implementing act or through guidelines, without changing the text of the regulation on the 90-180 day rule itself - stated the Minister of Communications and Transport of BiH, Edin Forto.

He points out that this is a common and legally based mechanism in EU law and the fastest way to solve the problem.

The Ministry of Communications and Transport of BiH assessed that the Republic of Croatia showed the most concrete approach to solving this issue at today's meeting.

Croatia has already initiated amendments to the Law on Foreigners, which would allow professional drivers from third countries, with formal business cooperation with a company registered in Croatia, to obtain a national long-term visa.

If the amendments are adopted, drivers would be allowed to stay without applying the 90/180 rule in Croatia, while the rule would continue to apply in other Schengen Area member states.

However, it is uncertain at this moment when the proposed amendments will be adopted, given that the legislative procedure can take months.

A new meeting of the working group with the involvement of the private sector has been announced for two weeks.