Skopje, 30 January 2026 (MIA) - Minister of Transport Aleksandar Nikoloski said full communication is maintained with the transporters and a meeting with them has already been agreed to take place after the meeting scheduled for Tuesday in Brussels, in order to ensure the best solutions for the transporters who are a key driver of the Macedonian economy. He noted he was pleased that the EU expedited the process and published the document ahead of schedule.

"It is a 19-page document, which fully covers the new Schengen area rules. It contains one key word, it is in the part that I posted, where truck drivers, i.e. transporters, are accepted as professionals, alongside other categories listed including athletes, artists, etc., which is the first time that the EU has resolved the issue in this way. In essence, it was one of the ways to fix the situation, because when the transporters started the protests and called for a dialogue to resolve the issue, this was one of the three solutions offered," Nikoloski said in an interview with Sitel TV on Friday. 

He pointed out that he gave full support to the transporters, adding that the Prime Minister and the Government also gave their full support, to resolve the issue. He stressed that the process is being conducted in full coordination with the transporters.

"Today I held a meeting with the president and vice president of the largest association of transporters, "Makam-Trans". We agreed to meet again after the meeting with Brussels on Tuesday, and jointly review the proposals that will result from that meeting. I will work on my response together with them, i.e. in coordination with them. I want to offer the best possible solutions that will suit our transporters. We must give full support to this sector," Nikoloski said. 

He noted that the transporters' issue doesn't have to be resolved by April 10, when the EU's EES system is fully launched, because there is room for a solution even after April.

"I believe that we should find a solution by summer, and that is why it is optimal that the transporters' protests started now. With yesterday's agreement reached with the EU, I am optimistic that a solution will be found quickly. I expect a solution as early as Tuesday, but it would require a vote by member states and the European Commission, which takes a certain period of time. The core objective of the transporters' protest was to initiate a dialogue, rather than to immediately find a solution," said Nikoloski.

He stressed that transporters are classified as professionals in an official EU document, and now, he added, it only remains to be seen whether the 90 days within 180 will become 120, whether there will be special visas and work permits. When the transporters' protest happened, he noted, everyone understood why it was an issue. This, he said, is not a political, but a bureaucratic problem. It is no coincidence that I went to Croatia and spoke with the Greek minister and with Bulgaria. We kept highlighting this issue at meetings, and it was even on the agenda of government sessions.  

"I don't know what would have happened to transport and the economy if this issue had not been addressed now, because we cannot join the Schengen area for at least 9.5 years from now even if we join the EU by 2030," Nikoloski pointed out.

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