RAČIĆ: LIMITS ON DRIVERS' TIME IN THE EU - SERIOUS BLOW TO ECONOMY

BANJA LUKA, MARCH 6 /SRNA/ - The limitation of the stay of professional drivers from BiH in EU countries represents a major problem for the economy and could lead to higher transport service prices and a loss of competitiveness for domestic companies, the president of the Chamber of Commerce of Republika Srpska Goran Račić told SRNA.

Račić pointed out that this is an issue affecting all Western Balkan countries and that it is necessary for BiH's institutions to work more intensively to resolve it. He added that an extraordinary session of the Council of Ministers has also been requested to consider the issue facing transport operators. "The response we received is that the line ministers should prepare the session. I see no problem with doing that and holding the session," Račić said in SRNA's podcast. He stressed that the issue facing transport operators should be the focus of all officials who can contribute to resolving it, warning that the possible relocation of transport companies to other countries could have significant economic consequences. "According to some of our estimates, if transport companies were to re-register and move to Western European countries, this would increase the prices of transport services by about 30 percent," Račić said. Račić also said that the escalation of the conflict in the Persian Gulf poses a serious threat to the domestic economy, as it will inevitably lead to higher prices of oil and petroleum products, which will cause an increase in product prices and could lead to inflationary trends. "We have seen in recent days that oil prices have risen, and I expect they will continue to rise in the coming period. A higher oil price also means higher input costs that burden the procurement of products. Consequently, prices will rise, and this could lead to inflationary trends in this region," Račić said. He emphasized that this would not be good because Republika Srpska has managed over the past two years to curb inflation and keep it at a single-digit level of four to five percent, adding that almost all sectors of the economy would be affected by any future inflation. A new episode of the SRNA podcast, featuring the president of the Chamber of Commerce of Republika Srpska Goran Račić as the guest, will be available to users of our service on the YouTube channel and social media tomorrow at 10:00.