Čadež: €130 Million in Additional Costs for Companies Due to Waiting at EU Borders

Brussels

It is urgently necessary to accelerate the flow of goods, people, and services at border crossings to reduce the significant additional costs for companies. Due to 26 million hours of waiting at Serbia’s border crossings with EU countries each year, transportation costs alone amount to approximately €130 million annually, stated Marko Čadež, President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia (CCIS).

Speaking from Brussels on the Morning Show at National TV Broadcast RTS, Čadež emphasized that the additional costs for companies caused by delays at the Croatian border alone amount to €70 million annually. Administrative barriers affect not only Serbian companies, but also those from Austria, Germany, Italy, Croatia, Slovenia, and others.

“One of the operational proposals to address this issue is to establish a mutual exchange of electronic data between the customs authorities of Serbia and Croatia, similar to what has been implemented with Hungary, as well as to improve the infrastructure for truck crossings,” said Čadež.

“We are not depending on the EU administration's proactivity but rather on the business community and companies, as this is a shared challenge that we must address as soon as possible,” he added.

Čadež noted that the outcome of the meeting with Tonino Picula, the European Parliament Rapporteur for Serbia, is an operational plan outlining how to overcome these administrative barriers.

The CCIS President also announced an initiative to convene European rapporteurs for the Western Balkans with business leaders from Serbia and the region to discuss specific issues that negatively impact the economy.