UK Hauliers Seek Schengen Rule Exemption
The Road Haulage Association wants professional drivers exempted from the Schengen 90/180 day limit ahead of the 20 November EU-UK summit.
Updated on Nov. 4, 2026 in Transportation
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The Road Haulage Association has called for an exemption from the Schengen 90/180 day rule for UK professional drivers. The request comes as Turkish drivers blocked Bulgarian border crossings, leaving around 6,000 trucks unable to enter.
Why it matters
The Schengen rule limits non-EU citizens to 90 days in any 180-day period, and the RHA says this worsens a driver shortage that already leaves around 500,000 positions unfilled across Europe. Limiting how long qualified drivers can work in the EU, the association argues, is making that shortage harder to close.
Roughly two-thirds of European road transport operators have turned down new contracts because they could not recruit enough drivers, against an estimated 500,000 unfilled truck driver positions. Around 6,000 trucks were unable to enter Bulgaria at the end of October, and whether the EU will alter the 90/180 day limit has not been decided.
The players
Road Haulage Association
The Road Haulage Association is the principal trade body representing road haulage operators in the United Kingdom.
Union Nationale des Transporteurs Routiers (UND)
UND is an international road transport association that backed the Turkish drivers' protests against the 90/180 day rule.
The details
The RHA published a statement ahead of the summit asking that professional driver mobility be an explicit negotiating priority. Drivers from Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Turkey have blocked border crossings several times this year, with the international transport association UND backing the Turkish protests. Until the summit, the rule applies in full and drivers who overstay risk fines or entry bans, and the EU's Entry/Exit System now records every entry and exit electronically.
Timeline
Earlier this year: the European Commission published a visa strategy acknowledging extended stays.
September: a Commission spokesperson said the Schengen rules would not change.
End of October: around 6,000 trucks were blocked from entering Bulgaria.
4 November 2026: the RHA published its statement ahead of the summit.
20 November 2026: the EU-UK summit where the exemption request will be considered.
Transportation Outlook
The 90/180 day rule under the Schengen Borders Code was designed for tourists and short-term visitors, not for professional drivers who work continuously across the bloc. The 20 November summit will show whether the EU is prepared to treat that category differently, as the sector's roughly 500,000 vacancies remain open.
Freight rates and delivery schedules across European supply chains depend on whether drivers can keep working under current limits. If the 90/180 day rule stays unchanged, operators will continue to face shortages that limit the contracts they can accept.
The takeaway
The dispute shows how a border rule written for tourists now constrains a labor market that depends on continuous cross-border work. Readers tracking freight costs should watch the summit outcome, since any change in driver mobility would affect supply.
What happens next
The request for a professional driver exemption will be considered at the EU-UK summit on 20 November 2026.
Further reading
For broader context on the freight sector, see Transportation.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Trans.
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