Removal of Permits for Transport of Cargo and Passengers Between Serbia and North Macedonia Announced

The minister of construction, transport and infrastructure of Serbia, Goran Vesic, has announced that the cargo transport between Serbia and North Macedonia from or to third countries, by ecologically acceptable vehicles, will be liberalized, that is, exempt from the permit system, from August 1.

Vesic said that it was a result of the agreement reached at the meeting of the Mixed Serbian-North Macedonian Commission for International Road Transport of Passengers or Cargo, held in Ohrid on June 5-6.

The minister said that it had been agreed for the transport of cargo to and from third countries, done by ecologically acceptable vehicles – vehicles in the “green vehicle” category and above (EURO 2, EURO 3, EURO 4, EURO 5, EURO EEV and EURO 6), to be exempt from the permit system, that is, to be liberalized, beginning with August 1, 2023.

Bilateral cargo transport and transit cargo transport is to remain liberalized, the minister added.

He pointed out that a symbolic number of permits would remain, fewer than a hundred, on both sides for transporters with non-environmentally-friendly engines, that is, EURO 0 diesel engines.

– These are small transporters that live and work along both sides of the border, so we wanted to provide them with the possibility of working, with the obligation of replacing non-ecological vehicles with ecological ones in the future – he noted.

Vesic said that a great success had been achieved regarding the international transport of passengers in road traffic, because it had been agreed for the alternating transport of passengers to be carried out without a permit from June 15, 2023.

The agreement between the two sides was adopted based on the “Open Balkans” initiative and the goals set by the Memorandum of Understanding and Cooperation on Facilitating Transport, Exports and Movement of Goods in the Western Balkans, as announced on the website of the Government of Serbia.

– The agreement will contribute to a further removal of administrative barriers, which will additionally strengthen the economies of the two states, and for the economy and the citizens, it will facilitate the movement of people and goods within the Western Balkans region – Vesic said.

Ministarstvo građevinarstva, saobraćaja i infrastrukture Republike Srbije

Ministry of Transport

Goran Vesic

Open Balkans

removal of permits for transport of cargo and passengers between Serbia and North Macedonia