Truck drivers in two of the four Balkan states protesting against the EU’s tightened entry-exit rules stepped back on Thursday, easing some pressure on major cargo routes, while colleagues in Bosnia and Serbia kept their lines of trucks in place.
Montenegro and North Macedonia ended blockades on borders with Greece, Bulgaria and at the Adriatic port of Bar, with North Macedonian hauliers saying they would clear freight lanes by Thursday evening.
The Bar blockade had prompted concerns over possible fuel shortages.
Drivers launched their protests on Monday over the EU’s stricter enforcement of Schengen stay limits, saying the rules expose them to detention or deportation and add hundreds of millions of euros to operating costs.
They have urged their governments to push Brussels to adapt the system for professions that depend on constant cross-border travel.
The EU on Thursday adopted what it described as its first visa strategy, offering more flexibility for highly mobile workers such as truck drivers, athletes and touring artists.
“This is particularly relevant for professional drivers from Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Western Balkans region,” Luigi Soreca, the EU’s ambassador in Bosnia, wrote on X.
But Serbian and Bosnian truckers said the new language from Brussels did not meet their demands.
“These statements do not fulfil our demands nor resolve our problems,” said Zijad Saric, a Bosnian transporter and protest organiser.
At Serbia’s Batrovci crossing with EU member Croatia, a mile-long queue of trucks remained in place on Thursday, blocking access to the cargo terminal.
Serbia’s Chamber of Commerce chief Marko Cadez said 93% of exports from the four protesting countries were halted, inflicting about 92 million euros in daily losses.
EU-based companies operating in or exporting to the region have also been hit.
“For every company it is about 10,000 to 50,000 euros per day in penalties as they are not servicing customers,” Cadez told Reuters in Belgrade.
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Bangladesh and Pakistan resumed direct flights on Thursday for the first time since 2012, when the Sheikh Hasina administration suspended the Dhaka-Ka...
Bangladesh and Pakistan on Thursday resumed direct flight services after 14 years, marking a milestone in the revival of relations between the two Mus...
Truck drivers in two of the four Balkan states protesting against the EU’s tightened entry-exit rules stepped back on Thursday, easing some pressure...
Spain’s transport minister Oscar Puente said on Thursday that the government has stepped up investment across the railway network after years of underfunding, a point he underlined while senators pressed him over two recent train accidents.
“For some weeks now, we have been seeing with increasing clarity the emergence of a world of great powers,” German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Thursday (29 January), declaring that Europe had found “self-respect” in standing up for a rules-based global order.
Severe storms have disrupted cargo flows across Europe, shutting terminals and slowing vessel movements for some of the world’s biggest carriers.
“This is a strategic wake-up call for all of Europe” French President Emmanuel Macron warned on Wednesday, 28 January, as he hosted Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenland’s premier, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, in Paris to reaffirm France’s support for Greenland’s sovereignty.
The S&P 500 edged to a record closing high on Tuesday, marking its fifth consecutive day of gains, as strong advances in technology stocks offset a sharp selloff in healthcare shares and a mixed batch of corporate earnings.
Liverpool confirmed direct qualification to the UEFA Champions League round of 16 with a 6-0 win over Qarabağ at Anfield in their final league-phase match. Despite the setback, Qarabağ secured a play-off spot, with results elsewhere going in the Azerbaijani champions’ favour on the final matchday.
China is supplying key industrial equipment that has enabled Russia to speed up production of its newest nuclear-capable hypersonic missile, an investigation by The Telegraph has found, heightening concerns in Europe over Moscow’s ability to threaten the West despite international sanctions.
Storm Kristin has killed at least five people and left more than 850,000 residents of central and northern Portugal without electricity on Wednesday (28 January), as it toppled trees, damaged homes, and disrupted road and rail traffic before moving inland to Spain.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said he was ready to assist in rebuilding Syria’s war-damaged economy as the country's interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa made his second visit to Moscow in less than four months on Wednesday (28 January).
The European Commission has announced €153 million ($183 million) in emergency aid for Ukraine, alongside €8 million ($9.5 million) to support Moldova, which hosts large numbers of Ukrainian refugees.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order declaring a national emergency and establishing a process to impose tariffs on goods from countries that sell or otherwise provide oil to Cuba, the White House said.
Burkina Faso’s military-led government has dissolved all political parties and ordered their assets transferred to the state under a decree adopted by the authorities.
Bangladesh and Pakistan resumed direct flights on Thursday for the first time since 2012, when the Sheikh Hasina administration suspended the Dhaka-Karachi route on what it described as security grounds.
Bangladesh and Pakistan on Thursday resumed direct flight services after 14 years, marking a milestone in the revival of relations between the two Muslim-majority nations.
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