site.btaNorth Macedonia Freight Protest Blocks Lorry Crossings at Border Checkpoints

Crossings for freight lorries at several border checkpoints in the Republic of North Macedonia will be blocked from 12:00 [13:00 Bulgarian time] on Monday, North Macedonia’s Interior Ministry said on Sunday.

The disruption is due to a carriers’ protest against the Schengen Area’s new Entry/Exit System (EES) 90/180 rule for professional drivers, while passenger traffic is expected to continue normally.

Freight traffic will be blocked at border checkpoints along North Macedonia’s borders, the country’s Ministry of Interior said. The disruption stems from a carriers’ protest against new rules limiting professional drivers’ stays in the Schengen Area to a maximum of 90 days within any six-month period (the 90/180 rule under the new Entry/Exit System, EES, introduced in early October 2025), which they say will severely hamper their work.

Freight traffic will be suspended at the Deve Bair, Delchevo and Novo Selo border crossings with Bulgaria; Dojran, Bogorodica and Medzitlija with Greece; Kjafasan and Blato with Albania; and Blace with Kosovo. The protest will halt the movement of freight vehicles, while passenger traffic will continue uninterrupted at all border crossings, the Republic of North Macedonia’s Ministry of Interior said.

Representatives of freight haulage associations in international road transport from Serbia, Montenegro, and Bosnia and Herzegovina also warned of a protest. They said they would stage demonstrations at border crossings with neighbouring Schengen Area countries, including Bulgaria.

The ministry said organizers plan for the protest to last up to seven days, with the option to end it earlier if its underlying grievances are addressed in the meantime. It urged citizens and freight carriers to monitor conditions at border crossings in advance, follow official updates and, if necessary, use alternative checkpoints.

“The new rules for entering the Schengen area do nothing to improve any aspect of the EU, but they create serious problems for us. They will have a negative impact on business,” said President of the Economic Chamber of North Macedonia Branko Azeski earlier in the week.

North Macedonia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport, Aleksandar Nikoloski, also addressed the new rules introduced for professional drivers entering Schengen Area countries a few days ago. "The EU is about to set quotas that will likely be filled by China and India in the first two months of the year. After that, a 50% tariff will apply, which will effectively mean no steel imports into the EU because it will be uncompetitive, and this will cause the steel industry to collapse," Nikoloski said.

In December, Nikoloski met in Brussels with the European Commissioner for Transport Apostolos Tzitzikostas and the Director-General for Mobility and Transport at the European Commission Magda Kopczynska. "I tried to explain to them that what they are doing will spell death for the region's economy and lead to the closure of numerous foreign investments coming from EU Member States," said Nikoloski.