543 truck block Sarajevo - transporters demand immediate help!

543 truck block Sarajevo - transporters demand immediate help!

Sarajevo, Bosnien und Herzegowina - in Sarajevo, a protest occurred on April 21, 2025, which was characterized by 543 trucks. Under the motto "It is enough", transporters demanded that their concerns be taken seriously by the authorities. The coordinator Velibor Peulic from the consortium "Logistik Bih" confirmed a broad participation from different regions of Bosnia and Herzegowina. The demonstration led from the Stupska crossing to Bulevar Mese Selimovica to the place of Bosnia and Herzegovina and then back.

The transporters expressed several demands that react to the pressure of the competition from the EU. This includes an immediate two-year moratorium for the 90/180 rule in EU traffic, the reimbursement of fuel taxes, shortened waiting times at the border crossings through accelerated digitization and a reduction in ongoing operating costs in road transport. The existing 90/180 regulatory system severely limits Bosnian truck drivers and favors competitors from the EU who do not have such restrictions.

political tensions and protests

At the same time, deeper political tensions showed themselves in the capital. On the same evening, hundreds of citizens in Sarajevo demonstrated against the high representative of Christian Schmidt, organized by the unification of independent intellectual "Krug 99". This group is committed to the multinational and multi -religious tradition of Bosnia and Herzegowina and criticizes Schmidt sharply because he supposedly tries to undermine the country's democratic tradition. At the center of the protests is the case of Slaven Kovačević, whose legal dispute led to an important judgment of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).

Kovačević complains about discrimination by the current electoral system that, as a resident of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, does not enable him to vote for presidential candidates who are not of Bosniac or Croatian origin. Despite international judgments, the electoral system remains unchanged, which further reinforces the existing ethnic tensions and combines the majority of civil society behind the judgment of the ECHR.

challenges on the way to the EU

At the moment, Bosnia and Herzegovina are faced with the greatest political crisis since the end of the war in 1995, and the way to the EU remains rocky. The country received the EU candidate status in December 2022, but internal divisions make the necessary reforms difficult. The current presidency is composed of representatives of the three constituent nations - Bosniaken, Croatian and Serbs - and this ethnic fragmentation has strongly destabilized the political climate.

The situation remains tense, and the termination of protests in the transport sector and the political demonstrations show that social displeasure is growing among the population. Transporters have already threatened with border blockades, which could result in further tensions if their concerns are not treated by the responsible ministries by April 25th.