Balgarianovinite.com 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. North Macedonia Freight Protest Blocks Lorry Crossings at Border Checkpoints 2026 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-01-25 19:53:45 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