Blocking Border Crossings – Just Another Cheap Maneuver

The announced blockade of border crossings represents yet another in a series of irrational moves by the authorities, causing the greatest damage precisely to the citizens and the Serbian economy. It is a move with no real effect, except for further aggravating already serious problems in the transport of goods to the European Union, while sending a message to the public that the EU alone is to blame for everything.

The reality, however, is quite different.

New control measures at the European Union’s borders were announced and well known long ago, as were their consequences for truck transport and exports from Serbia. The EU is Serbia’s most important export market, and road transport is the key channel for that export. In 2024, Serbia’s total goods exports amounted to €29.16 billion, of which nearly €19 billion, or about 65 percent, was placed on the EU market.

Under the new rules, the stay of Serbian citizens in Schengen Area countries is limited to a maximum of 90 days within any 180-day period. In practice, this means that truck drivers will very quickly reach the maximum permitted stay and afterward will be unable either to enter or remain in the EU, directly jeopardizing exports and the functioning of entire production chains.

It is particularly important to emphasize that, through this attitude toward truck transport, the SNS demonstrates how little it deals with the real economy in its political and business arrangements, and how little it truly sees the entire sector of small and medium-sized enterprises in Serbia. Truck transport is not an isolated activity, but the backbone of the economy and the entire SME sector—without it, there is no export, no production, and no stable employment. Ignoring this problem directly means ignoring thousands of small businesses and tens of thousands of jobs.

Despite all this, resolving this issue was clearly not among the priorities of the Government of Serbia. We entered 2026 without any solution, one that could and should have been found earlier, in order to spare companies exporting to the EU from uncertainty and the inability to plan their business operations.

Unfortunately, this is not an exception, but the rule.

The Government of Serbia does not solve problems—it systematically nurtures them and postpones them until the last moment, when the damage becomes inevitable. We then deal with damage control instead of systemic solutions. The agony surrounding Naftna Industrija Srbije and the sanctions that were met unprepared and without any plan is yet another example of such behavior. Instead of responsible policy and timely decisions, we get last-minute improvisation and the shifting of responsibility onto others.

Business uncertainty, unpredictable government measures, unrealistic exchange rate and excise policies, as well as widespread corruption, have already led to the closure of numerous factories across the country, the loss of thousands of jobs, and a decline in foreign investment, which has been halved compared to the previous year.

Once again, the regime shows that the interests of the economy and citizens are not important to it. Constant references to “GDP growth” (or “gee-dee-pee,” as they like to pronounce it) serve only as a smokescreen behind which corrupt governance of the state is concealed, while citizens live increasingly harder lives and Serbia systematically deteriorates.

Solidarity believes that Serbia cannot afford another year of improvisation, delays, and shifting blame. What is needed is a responsible, predictable, and serious policy that will protect the interests of citizens and the economy, not power at any cost.