The Government is working to secure long-term work visas for truck and bus drivers to ensure they can enter and exit the Schengen zone without disruption, Macedonia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport Aleksandar Nikoloski said Friday.
“Switzerland already issues such visas for Macedonian transporters, Croatia announced that there is currently a legal procedure for adopting an appropriate law in the Croatian Parliament, and we are working in coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Interior, and in coordination with the Prime Minister, so that several more countries declare such visas for Macedonian transporters, which will mean a complete solution to the problem,” said Minister Nikoloski.
He stressed that meetings are held each Thursday at a technical level to resolve this issue.
“After the pressure, not only from Macedonia, but also from the entire region, the European Commission prematurely announced the visa strategy, every Thursday there are meetings at the technical level, where experts from Macedonia participate and we discuss finding a solution. I see that neighboring countries are exploiting this in the media, we decided to be constructive and work and I do not think that the way to solve this problem is the way neighboring countries do it by constantly informing the public, and on a stage that is happening, but this is done in the office, with documents, with arguments and that is the way we work and therefore once again I will appeal to see that we solve our problem, and what Albania, Kosovo, Montenegro, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina will do is their problem, and I am glad that our truckers have understood this and that we are working together on solutions for Macedonian transporters,” said Nikoloski.
He reminds that the system comes into effect in April, for truckers from Macedonia it will be postponed until the end of September, and by then, Nikoloski says, a solution should be found.
