Integrated Border Crossings - Have Waiting Times Been Reduced and by How Much?

And while some businessmen dispute its reach, from the Chamber of Commerce of Serbia they told eKapija that Open Balkan has improved the business environment among the members of the Initiative (Northern Macedonia, Albania and Serbia), and that certain improvements are tangible in daily operations.

The trade in goods of plant and animal origin, which is the most complex, is especially facilitated. The results of local laboratory analyzes are accepted in all three members of the Initiative, which means that there are no additional examinations, which was the case until recently, for the majority of goods, the inspection control has been moved from the state borders, the frequency of product sampling has also been significantly reduced with a recorded reduction in the number of shipments which did not meet the conditions for traffic, says Aleksandar Radovanović, head of the Center for Regional Cooperation of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce, who reminds that the main border crossings are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

According to him, mutual recognition of the status of authorized economic entities (AEOs) contributed to the additional facilitation of trade and the acceleration of the flow of goods. and also, joint electronic toll collection (via a "tag" device) between Serbia and North Macedonia was introduced,

so that with one tag, either Serbian or Macedonian, electronic toll collection is performed.

- Through the implementation of the agreement on free access to the labor market, workers have been given the opportunity to work anywhere in the three countries under equal conditions as they access the labor market in their home countries. Also, we are close to implementing the agreement on joint control (one stop shop) at the Preševo ​​Tabanovce border crossing (the border between Serbia and North Macedonia), where passenger control would take place with only one document reading - he points out.

- Thanks to this initiative, the average time spent at the Preševo-Tabanovce border crossing in 2024 was 20 minutes (according to the data of the Customs Administration), which represents a significant improvement in relation to the situation before the initiative was launched. Namely, according to a World Bank study conducted by the Customs Administration in 2017, before Open Balkan became operational, the average waiting time at this crossing was 1 hour and 17 minutes, although the number of truck passes has increased since then.

- When entering the customs territory of the Republic of Serbia or the Republic of North Macedonia, the cargo weighing certificate is accepted, as well as accompanying transit documentation certified by the seal of the neighboring customs administration, which is a key prerequisite for significantly speeding up the procedure (goods that are measured on the Serbian side of the border are not measured again on the Macedonian side and vice versa).

- Additional progress is expected when the reconstruction and modernization of the cargo terminal at GP Preševo ​​is completed, which will double the infrastructural capacity of freight traffic and speed up the flow of goods (from the currently existing two traffic lanes, it will be expanded to 4). Also, full implementation of the agreement on the control of passengers and drivers with only one document reading at the border crossings full implementation of the One stop shop would be ensured, which would speed up border procedures and could be a positive example and model of functioning for other border crossings in the region - our interlocutor believes.

He adds that by signing the Agreement on Mutual Recognition of Compulsory Insurance Policies with the Republic of Macedonia, and later on with Albania, it would abolished the need to have a green card when entering motor vehicles into two countries.

Data from the Serbian Chamber of Commerce show that Serbia`s trade with Albania in 2024 was higher than in 2019 by as much as 83 percent. Serbian exports to Albania grew by 81, and Albanian to Serbia 88 percent. Trade with Macedonia in 2024 increased by 54 percent compared to 2019,

Serbian exports to Macedonia by 40.5, and the import from Macedonia has almost doubled (it`s even 97% higher).

Common road border crossings in the region, according to PKS data, are, apart from the aforementioned Preševo-Tabanovce, also Hani Elezit-Blace (Kosovo and Metohija - S. Macedonia), Morina (Kosovo and Metohija - Albania), Bratunac (Serbia - BIH), QafeThane-Kjafasan (Albania - S. Macedonia), Zupci-Sitnica (BIH - Montenegro) and Deleuša-Vraćenovići (BIH - Montenegro).

When it comes to railway integrated border crossings, the only functional and operational border crossing is Bjelo Polje (Montenegro - Serbia), which was commissioned in July 2024, and the plan is to establish integrated railway crossings Tuzi (Montenegro-Albania), Brasina-Zvornik (BiH - Serbia), Hani and Elezit (North Macedonia - Kosovo and Metohija), Preševo ​​- Tabanovce (Serbia - North Macedonia), Capljina - Metkovic and Dobrljin - Volinja (BiH - Croatia), Gevgelija - Idomeni and Bitola-Florina (North Macedonia - Greece), Dimitrovgrad (Serbia - Bulgaria), Sid-Tovarnik (Serbia – Croatia), Subotica-Roszke (Serbia – Hungary), Kikinda-Jimbolia (Serbia – Romania).

Introduction of additional common border crossings with full inspection capacities is one of the key conditions for improving the competitiveness of Bosnia and Herzegovina. exporter, is the message for eKapija from the Foreign Trade/Foreign Trade Chamber of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

For many years, the Chamber, in cooperation with the businessmen - members, initiates concrete measures for the improvement of the business environment, particularly in the field of international trade and transport. Among the priority requests are speeding up customs procedures, digitalization of customs, opening of additional BIPs (border inspection points), as well as the extension of working hours of inspections at border crossings.

- For years, businessmen have been pointing out to us the delays at the borders, especially when exporting perishable goods such as fruits and vegetables. The problem is the inconsistent working hours of phytosanitary inspections - while in BiH, inspections work until 7 p.m. in Croatia, working hours are limited to 15 hours. In practice, this means waiting until the next day, which causes damage to exporters - the Chamber emphasizes.

Currently, Bosnia and Herzegovina has 17 border crossings with Croatia in international road transport, but only two - Gradiška and Bijača - have BIP status, which enables complete inspection controls. The Chamber requests that this status be extended to the Svilaj and Izačić crossings and to establish border crossings with mutual phytosanitary control in Orašje, Kamenski and Ivanica.

Another big challenge is the status of professional drivers from BiH and other countries of the Western Balkans in the Schengen area. Currently, their stay is limited to 90 days in a 180-day period, which creates problems in the performance of international transport. The Foreign Trade Chamber of Bosnia and Herzegovina is advocating that drivers be granted a status similar to members of aircraft and ship crews, thus exempting them from this limitation.

He points out that the development of the infrastructure at the border crossings between the European Union and the Western Balkans has not been accompanied by an increase in traffic volume resulting from increased volume of economic activities, the availability of the inspection services is uneven, and the coordination and synchronization of the work of the border services requires better coordination and there is also a need to increase the capacity of employees in the services that work at border crossings.

- By establishing joint controls or integrated border crossings, primarily with the EU, at the most frequent spots, it would help solve the problem of long waits at the exit from Serbia. Also, expansion of infrastructural and personnel capacities would greatly reduce time which heavy motor vehicles spend at border crossings - our interlocutor assesses.

- The data of the World Bank indicate 26 million hours of waiting for trucks per year, at all border crossing points between the Western Balkans and the EU: The rough estimate of the fixed costs of transport companies is around 5 euros/h, which leads to a figure of a loss of 130 million euros per year. The costs for all companies involved in the supply chains are many times higher when additional losses are included in this calculation (storage on wheels, losses in the value of goods, lost sales and production, reduced competitiveness, etc.) - our interlocutor says.

When it comes to border crossings with the EU, the average waiting time ranges from 5 to even 9.5 hours. In addition to the long waiting time, freight vehicles at the border crossings with Croatia and Hungary stand in lines about 5 km long, while blocking the traffic lane that is intended for regular traffic.

Radovanović makes concrete proposals for the solution of the mentioned problems of long waiting times at the borders:

1. Establishing the processing of freight vehicles in 3 lanes simultaneously on both sides (Batrovci - Bajakovo; Horgoš - Roske)

• On both sides, it is necessary to provide additional scales and cabins on three lanes at the entrance and exit, as well as scanners to enable simultaneous operation;

The unused potentials for connecting the Western Balkan region and the EU by rail (corridor X - Belgrade - Zagreb - Ljubljana - Trieste) additionally contribute to delays at road crossings, Radovanović states. He reminds that the railway infrastructure has not been systematically invested for a long time, and that the existing infrastructure (track and signaling) on ​​most sections is dilapidated and inadequate, and border crossings are dysfunctional and inefficient.

In order to overcome the mentioned problem, he adds, the Serbian Chamber of Commerce and the Croatian Chamber of Commerce have sent a joint initiative for the adoption of emergency measures by national governments and the European Commission for the creation of preconditions to accelerate and facilitate the flow of goods at cross-border crossings between the EU and the Western Balkans in the Adriatic-Ionian macroregion, which was adopted by the board of directors of the Forum of Chambers of Commerce of the Adriatic-Ionian countries at the meeting on April 18 last year.