Balgarianovinite.com The protest by road hauliers from Serbia, the Republic of North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro has been called off, Bulgaria’s Foreign Ministry said on Saturday.
In recent days, road hauliers had blocked freight terminals at land border checkpoints with Schengen Area countries, including Bulgaria.
The situation at Bulgaria’s border checkpoints with the Republic of Serbia is gradually returning to normal, with no significant traffic disruptions at the respective terminals, the Foreign Ministry added.
A late-January 2026 wave of road hauliers’ protests in the Western Balkans spilled over into disruptions at border crossings with neighbouring Schengen countries, including Bulgaria. The action was driven by carriers from Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republic of North Macedonia who objected to the Entry/Exit System-related enforcement of the 90/180-day Schengen stay limit for professional drivers, warning it would hamper operations once stricter controls begin on April 10.
On January 26, North Macedonia’s Interior Ministry said freight traffic would be blocked at several crossings, including those on its border with Bulgaria (Deve Bair, Delchevo and Novo Selo), while passenger traffic would continue. Later that day, Bulgarian police reported temporary restrictions on heavy vehicles over 3.5 tonnes entering Bulgaria through the Gyueshevo crossing point.
By January 27, the Bulgarian Border Police said all freight traffic was fully closed at the North Macedonia crossings mentioned above, and heavy goods vehicle traffic leaving Serbia was blocked at Kalotina, Strezimirovci and Vrashka Chuka. The Bulgarian Foreign Ministry warned of possible tailbacks around checkpoints and advised Bulgarian hauliers to avoid travel to and from Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and North Macedonia in the following days, urging route planning where necessary.
Outgoing Minister of Transport and Communications Grozdan Karadjov said the blockades would bring very large economic losses, not only for the transport sector but for supply-dependent industries across the region, and argued the issue should be addressed through dialogue with EU institutions. The European Commission said the system does not change long-standing Schengen stay rules but acknowledged the practical difficulties for groups such as truck drivers, and said work on a visa strategy was under way. On January 29, North Macedonia’s MAKAM-TRANS said it was lifting the blockades after news from Brussels on a new visa approach, and Bulgarian police confirmed the protests had ended at all crossings on the Bulgaria-North Macedonia border. Protest by Western Balkans Road Hauliers Ends, Border Situation Normalizes 2026 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-01-31 11:26:08 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law