Truck drivers across the Balkans blocked dozens of border crossings in the region on Monday in protest of the European Union's new entry rules that they say have undermined their work.
According to Associated Press long columns of trucks formed at freight border crossings in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia, North Macedonia and Montenegro in a coordinated action in the four countries.
The blockade also included the Adriatic Sea port of Bar in Montenegro.
At the Odzak border crossing between Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia drivers vowed to continue to block the crossing until their demands were met.
"We are asking to be allowed to work. It is clear to us that there will be a disruption is supply chains. We ask for patience, because we have no other choice,” said driver, Amir Hadzidedic.
The drivers complain that the regulation that non-EU citizens can stay within the EU's free travel zone for up to-90 days within any 180-day period means they cannot work normally.
Dozens of truck drivers already have been expelled from various EU countries for overstaying.
The new EU entry rules that started applying in October last year, also envisage electronic registration rather than stamping of passports, which has also slowed down traffic at border crossings with non-EU countries.
The new system should be fully implemented by April.
Six Western Balkan countries that are striving to become members of the EU are at different stages of the reform process needed to join the 27-nation bloc.
Tags: #Ukriane, #Russia, #Putin, #Putler, #Russian invasion of Ukraine, #Zelenski, #Kiev, #Kyiv, #Kadirov army, #Kadirov, #Kherson, #Bucha, #Kharkiv, #Ukrainian pilots, #vagners, #Russian tanks, #NATO, #drones, #Moscow, #Kreml, #war victims #Ukraina, News, The Washington Post, waPo Video, Washington Post Video, Washington Post YouTube, a:politics, aid, biden, putin, s:Politics, support, t:Other, Ukraine, war, fact check, news coverage, Donald Trump, news, wp video, forbes, nytimes, newspaper, media, journalism, Ilham Aliyev, Baku, Azerbaijan, Israel, Gaza, Palestine, Tel-Aviv, Garabag, Karabakh, football, ronaldo, messi, brian tyler cohen
Truck drivers across the Balkans blocked dozens of border crossings in the region
on Monday in protest of the European Union's new entry rules that they say have undermined their
work. According to Associated Press long columns of trucks formed at freight border crossings in
Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia, North Macedonia and Montenegro in a coordinated action in the four
countries. The blockade also included the Adriatic Sea port of Bar in Montenegro.
At the Odzak border crossing between Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia drivers
vowed to continue to block the crossing until their demands were met.
We are asking to be allowed to work. It is clear to us that there will be a disruption is supply
chains. We ask for patience, because we have no other choice, said driver, Amir Hadzidetic.
The drivers complain that the regulation that non-EU citizens can stay within the EU's free
travel zone for up to 90 days within any 180-day period means they cannot work normally.
Dozens of truck drivers already have been expelled from various EU countries for overstaying.
The new EU entry rules that started applying in October last year also envisage electronic
registration rather than stamping of passports, which has also slowed down traffic at border
crossings with non-EU countries. The new system should be fully implemented by April.
Six Western Balkan countries that are striving to become members of the EU
are at different stages of the reform process needed to join the 27-nation bloc.
It is clear to us that there will be a disruption is supply chains. We ask for patience,
because we have no other choice, said driver, Amir Hadzidetic.
We plan to stay at the border crossings until our demands are met, and that is
finding a solution for another way of identifying our drivers or allowing longer stay.
We are passengers, we have an additional problem at the border. When a driver is expelled,
we are left with passengers on the bus. And, unfortunately, sometimes it happens that those
passengers wait for two or three hours on the bus until a replacement driver arrives.
I mean, it's not just mistreating the driver, it's mistreating the passengers on the bus.
Chinese Colonel-General Zhang Youxia is accused of passing information about China's nuclear
program to the United States, the Wall Street Journal reports.
In addition to leaking information, the high-ranking military officer is suspected
of accepting bribes and promoting an officer to the position of defense minister,
journalists report. That's why he was arrested. Prior to his arrest, he was vice chairman of
the Central Military Commission of China and considered a close associate of Xi Jinping.
Zhang Youxia was also a member of the Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee.
As reported, a meeting of the Chinese Communist Party was held on Jan. 24,
at which the colonel-general was accused of attempting to form a coalition to undermine
party unity. Furthermore, the newspaper claims, Zhang Youxia headed an agency that developed
and purchased military equipment. According to Wall Street Journal sources, the general
allegedly promised promotions in exchange for bribes. Previously, it was reported that Chinese
authorities had launched an anti-corruption investigation against Zhang. Charges of
serious violations of discipline and the law were also brought against the chief of the joint staff
of the Central Military Commission, General Lu Xunli. It was previously reported that government
employees in China are using masks to trick facial recognition systems. Moreover, the removal of
Zhang, China's highest-ranking military official, marks an unprecedented concentration of military
power in the hands of Chinese President Xi Jinping. The Financial Times also notes that,
as a result of anti-corruption investigations in the military, only two members remain on the
Central Military Commission, which leads the armed forces, one of whom is the Chinese leader.
This is an unprecedented situation for the Central Military Commission,
the journalists point out. Xi Jinping, who has led the Central Military Commission since 2012,
calls corruption the greatest threat to China. Since assuming the presidency in 2013,
she has stepped up efforts to combat alleged corruption at all levels of the military and
government. Critics believe he is using the anti-corruption campaign to eliminate unwanted
opponents. In October, Chinese authorities announced investigations into suspected
corruption against nine military officials. Two high-ranking generals were removed from their
posts, including Zhang Xingmin's predecessor, He Weidong.
