BRUSSELS – The European Commission said today that Schengen rules would not be changed, although officials are aware that certain categories of workers, including professional truck drivers, face difficulties when entering and leaving European countries that are part of the free-movement area, Radio Free Europe reports.
“We are aware that a number of professionals from third countries who are not cross-border workers need access to the Schengen area for more than 90 days within a 180-day period. This concerns professions requiring a high degree of mobility, such as truck drivers, but also athletes and touring artists”, European Commission spokesperson Markus Lammert said at a regular press briefing.
He stressed that the Entry/Exit System does not introduce any new rules of requirements regarding the permitted duration of short stays in the Schengen area.
As Radio Free Europe reports, several hundred road hauliers staged protests on Monday in Sarajevo, Belgrade, Podgorica and Skopje, gathering outside the buildings of the EU delegations in the four cities.
The hauliers are calling for a solution to the issue of their stay and work in the EU. They are demanding that professional drivers be granted conditions of stay adapted to the specific nature of their work and that the 90 days within 180 day period rule should not apply to them.
