Bosnian truck drivers block movement of goods in protest over barriers, taxes

By Daria Sito-Sucic

SARAJEVO (Reuters) -Bosnian truck drivers blocked the movement of all goods in the Balkan country on Monday over what they said was the government's failure to support the transport sector.

About 600 trucks were parked near cargo customs terminals in several towns, including the capital Sarajevo, and near the borders with Croatia and Serbia.

Passenger traffic has not been blocked but has slowed, Bosnia's motor vehicle club BIHAMK said.

Logistika, a body representing 47,000 workers in the transport sector, organised the protests under the slogan "That's enough" after months of negotiations with Bosnia's numerous layers of government yielded no results, it said.

"Our supply chains have been halted across the country," Velimir Peulic, Logistika's chief coordinator, told a news conference.

Logistika, which groups 600 companies, wants the central government to tackle administrative barriers and excessive taxes that it says endanger the survival of a sector worth 4.7 billion euros ($5.50 billion).

One key problem is a 90-day cap set by the European Union on the amount of time Bosnian truck drivers can stay in the bloc without leaving, out of 180 days permitted annually.

This, Peulic said, has forced many companies to re-register in neighbouring EU member states Croatia and Slovenia and many Bosnian drivers to leave their country.

"Stop arresting us in the EU," he said, adding that 48 Bosnian drivers had been detained across the EU for exceeding the 90-day limit even though they were only doing their job.

The truck drivers also want a refund of excise taxes on oil and shorter border procedures, as well as greater digitalisation that would cut red tape and long queues.

Bosnia's Communications and Transportation Ministry said it had begun tackling some of the administrative barriers and procedures and that they should be completed by next month.

Peulic said negotiations with the government would continue, and so would the protests.

($1 = 0.8542 euros)

(Reporting by Daria Sito-SucicEditing by Gareth Jones)