EES system from April 10, 2026: Balkan drivers threaten border blockades, logistics in Europe on the brink of crisis

The EU Entry-Exit System (EES) enters into full force on April 10, 2026, and with it, the real threat of disruption on European roads and border crossings looms on a scale not seen in years. Thousands of professional truck drivers from Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, and Montenegro are facing regulations that, in their opinion, make it virtually impossible to carry out their work. In response, they have been organizing protests and blocking key border crossings since the beginning of 2026, and their announcements of escalation are becoming increasingly serious. For transport and logistics companies operating in the European market, this means an immediate review of their operational plans and risk management strategies.

What is EES and how does it change the rules of the game at Schengen borders?

The EES is an integrated, fully digital system for recording biometric data—fingerprints and facial images—collected from every non-EU citizen upon crossing the external border of the Schengen Area. Its foundation is an automated stay counter that, with surgical precision, tracks how many days a person has spent in the Schengen area within a sliding 180-day window. The maximum permitted stay is 90 days.

The current border control system relied heavily on passport stamp verification—a method prone to errors, mistakes, and deliberate manipulation. EES completely eliminates this margin of inaccuracy. Since April 10th, the digital system has been unquestionable and leaves no room for interpretation: a driver who has exhausted their 90-day limit will simply not be allowed to enter the Schengen area, regardless of the circumstances.

For a citizen traveling for tourism or business several times a year, the 90/180 rule poses no problem. The situation is entirely different for a professional truck driver from Serbia or North Macedonia who regularly operates routes to Germany, Austria, Poland, or Italy. Such a driver can exhaust his or her stay limit within just three months of intensive work, after which he or she is forced to remain outside the Schengen area for another 90 days. In practice, this means that for half the year, they cannot practice their profession where there is a real demand for their work.

The scale of the problem: who drives European road transport?

To properly assess the gravity of the situation, it's important to understand the employment structure in the European road transport sector. Europe has been struggling with a chronic shortage of professional drivers for years. According to industry estimates, the continent has a shortage of over 200 truck drivers, and the gap is constantly widening due to an aging population and a lack of interest in the profession among young Europeans.

For many years, drivers from the Western Balkans have been filling this void. Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, and Montenegro have become key pools of personnel for transport companies based in Poland, Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, and Belgium. These workers are legally employed by European entities, possess the required professional qualifications, and have spent years developing their skills on European routes. Many of them have been an integral part of the EU supply chain for decades.

However, the EES in its current form does not distinguish between tourists and workers—every third-country national is treated identically. It is this lack of exception for cross-border workers and professional drivers that ignited the current conflict.

Protests and blockades: from warnings to real escalation

The first organized protests appeared in January 2026, several months before the system's scheduled launch. Truck drivers and transport company owners from the Western Balkans blocked dozens of border crossings in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, and Montenegro. Mile-long lines of trucks formed on major trade routes, causing significant delivery delays and the first financial losses for customers.

Protest organizers consistently emphasize that their activities are not tourism or migration-related in nature—they are work, without which the European economy cannot function effectively. They argue that the EES in its current form is an instrument designed without taking into account the realities of the transport market and affects a professional group that has long been an indispensable element of EU logistics.

The issue also took on a diplomatic dimension. The Serbian Prime Minister officially requested that the European Commission grant professional drivers a special status that would exempt them from the 90/180 rule. In his statement, he explicitly warned that without a political solution to this problem, the EES system could lead to the paralysis of transport companies throughout the region, with the economic consequences felt not only by the Balkan countries but, above all, by trading partners within the European Union.

At the EU level, the topic is the subject of intensive consultations, but no binding compromise has yet been reached. The European Commission has signaled the possibility of introducing flexible mechanisms for cross-border workers, but no formal decisions have been made before the system's entry into force.

Risk analysis for logistics operators and transport companies

From a business risk management perspective, the launch of EES generates several overlapping categories of threats that may materialize both immediately and in the coming months.

Operational risk: driver shortage and fleet downtime

Transport companies whose operating model relies heavily on drivers from the Western Balkans may face a sudden and difficult-to-replace staffing shortage. Drivers who have exhausted or will exhaust their Schengen stay limits will be forced to withdraw from the road for a full 90 days. If this phenomenon becomes widespread—and all signs point to it—parts of the fleet could effectively be idle. In extreme scenarios, this could mean defaulting on transport contracts and exposing them to compensation claims from customers.

Supply Chain Risk: Just-in-time Model Threatened

European industries—especially automotive, electronics, and food—widely utilize the just-in-time delivery model, which assumes minimal inventory and precise synchronization of deliveries with production needs. This model is particularly susceptible to transportation disruptions. Even delays of several days resulting from border closures or a lack of available drivers can lead to production line downtime, forced schedule changes, and significant financial losses for recipients.

Cost risk: freight rate increases

The transportation market responds to supply shortages with a standard mechanism: price increases. If the pool of available drivers on key routes from Central and Eastern Europe to Western Europe is limited by EES regulations, freight rates will inevitably rise. Companies with long-term contracts at fixed rates will find themselves trapped: they will be forced to incur higher operating costs without the ability to pass them on to customers. The increased logistics costs will ultimately be passed on to consumers in the form of higher retail prices.

Legal and Compliance Risk: Carrier Liability

An aspect often underestimated by transport companies is the legal risk associated with employing drivers who have violated Schengen residence rules. A carrier who allows a driver to work who has exceeded their residence limit may face administrative and financial consequences, including fines imposed by inspection authorities in individual member states. Roadside inspection systems, such as the Road Transport Inspectorate, will be able to verify a driver's residence status in real time through interoperability with the EES database.

What should transport and logistics companies do now?

The current situation requires risk managers and transport company owners to take concrete, proactive rather than reactive action. Below are key steps that should be taken without delay:

• Immediate audit of non-EU staff: Every company employing drivers from third countries should conduct a detailed inventory of their residence status. It should be precisely determined how many days of the 90/180 limit each employee has used and when it might be exhausted. This data should be updated on an ongoing basis.
• Verification of residence titles and work permits: Some drivers may hold residence or work permits issued by specific Member States, which alter their legal status and may exclude them from the EES regime. Careful verification of each employee's documents is necessary with the assistance of a lawyer specializing in immigration law.
• Diversifying the driver pool: Companies that are excessively dependent on a single source of staff should immediately start looking for alternative solutions – including recruiting drivers from Ukraine (the issue of their residence status in the EU is regulated by separate regulations), from other third countries that have relevant agreements with the EU, or intensified recruitment among EU citizens.
• Preparing contingency plans (business continuity planning): Every logistics company operating routes across the eastern Schengen border should have a prepared action plan in place in the event of mass border closures or a sudden lack of driver availability. The plan should include alternative routes, delay scenarios, and crisis communication with customers.
• Monitoring the regulatory situation: Negotiations between the Balkan countries and the European Commission are dynamic. Companies should monitor their progress, as potential exemptions or derogations for cross-border workers could significantly change the situation. It's worth engaging in lobbying activities through industry organizations.

Business Risk Perspective: Lessons for the Sector

The launch of the EES system is not an incident, but a structural change in the regulatory environment that the transport sector will have to contend with for years to come. Even if a political compromise is reached in the coming weeks and the European Commission grants some relief to professional drivers, the biometric border control system itself will remain in force and will generate new administrative challenges.

Companies that take this situation as an impetus to conduct a profound overhaul of their HR and supply chain models today will emerge stronger from this crisis. Companies that wait to see how things unfold risk significant operational and financial losses at one of the most sensitive times for European logistics.

From the perspective of contractor verification and cooperation risk assessment, the EES situation should be taken into account when assessing the operational credibility of any carrier declaring its ability to operate regular routes connecting the Western Balkans with the Schengen Area. Questions about the degree of reliance on non-EU drivers and the procedures in place to manage their residence status should become a standard element of due diligence in the transport and logistics industry.