Croatia ends blockade of cargo traffic on border with Serbia

Croatia ends blockade of cargo traffic on border with Serbia

Trucks were once again moving across the Batrovci border crossings between Serbia and Croatia on Tuesday afternoon.

The Ministry of Finance said the blockade was completely lifted at about 16:15 CET, and quoted information from the field to announce that trucks from the 12-kilometer-long line that formed on the Serbian side will soon be able to continue toward their end destinations.

Batrovci Customs Outpost chief Nenad Vukovic told Tanjug the ban on cargo traffic coming from Serbia was lifted when Croatian police informed their Serbian colleagues that the crossing could be used unimpeded by all.

Vukovic, however, observed that there has been no explanation why the ban was introduced in the first place.

The Croatian daily Vecernji List reported today that the Croatian government decided to allow "perishable goods" to be transported across Bajakovo-Batrovci, "after Croatian businesspeople warned that the closure of the border due to the refugee crisis would inflict losses worth millions to the Croatian economy."

The Croatian move introduced over the weekend caused officials of the two countries to exchange strong words, with Serbia warning it would introduce countermeasures, and mulling a ban on entry of goods from Croatia.

The Batrovci crossing is the only one that remains open on the border between Serbia and Croatia. Passenger vehicles waited from 15 to 30 minutes today to cross it.