ZAGREB, June 10, 2019 – Transport Minister Oleg Butković said on Monday that in order to resolve the problem of Slovenia’s cargo transport restriction on 17 smaller border crossings with Croatia, it was proposed to open those crossings only for Croatian and Slovenian hauliers.
He said the proposal was made last week at a meeting with Slovenian Transport Minister Alenka Bratušek. “Croatia isn’t against that decision because it’s good for safety on state roads in both countries,” he told reporters.
Representatives of the two countries’ transport ministries will meet on Thursday “to try to formalise everything,” he said. “I believe the Slovenian side will agree to that because I think it’s good for us and them.”
Butković went on to say that he and Bratušek also talked about the renovation of bridges on the border crossings.
On June 1, the Slovenian Transport Ministry introduced on 17 border crossings with Croatia a restriction on cargo vehicles weighing over 7.5 tons, with the explanation that it wanted to improve the safety and quality of life of the local population and was therefore shifting cargo transport from state roads to motorways.
Croatian hauliers believe the restriction is Slovenia’s response to the closure of the Mursko Središće border crossing for trucks weighing over 7.5 tons.
The president of the Association of Croatian Road Carriers, Dragutin Kranjčec, said last week they would wait for an answer regarding a solution to the problems caused by the Slovenian restriction and that if none was provided this week, they would take other actions if necessary.
More news about relations between Croatia and Slovenia can be found in the Politics section.
