Skopje, 11 March 2026 (MIA) — The government is pushing for annual multiple-entry visas for the Schengen Area to ease travel restrictions for commercial drivers, Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski said Wednesday.

Mickoski told reporters that bilateral negotiations were underway with several European Union member states to address challenges created by the EU’s Entry/Exit System. The digital tracking system currently treats truck and bus drivers as tourists, limiting them to 90 days within the Schengen Area in any 180-day period.

"The challenge with commercial drivers is ahead of us and we will have to solve it," Mickoski said, noting that the state was taking a proactive approach alongside EU officials. 

"Our diplomacy and the ministries of interior and transport are working together," he said.

The prime minister said the most likely solution involved issuing long-term visas that allow long-haulers to enter and exit the Schengen zone multiple times throughout the year.

Mickoski added that the issue affects both freight drivers and passenger drivers. mr/