Poland opens border crossing for trucks from Ukraine
After the start of the war, the EU relaxes the conditions for transports from Ukraine - to the detriment of Polish freight forwarders. They are reacting to the competition from the neighboring country with blockades. However, at least empty trucks can now cross the border into Poland again.
After weeks of blockades by Polish truck drivers, trucks have been able to cross the border from Ukraine again for the first time. The Dolhobyczow-Uhryniw crossing was opened to empty vehicles during the night. According to Ukrainian border guards, 30 trucks have crossed into Poland since then. The border crossing was previously only passable for cars and buses.
Polish transport companies have been blocking several important border crossings to Ukraine since the beginning of November. The hauliers are complaining of "unfair competition" from Ukrainian companies after the EU suspended a number of conditions for border transport due to the Russian attack on Ukraine.
The government in Kiev announced on Sunday that the opening of the Dolhobyczow-Uhryniv border crossing for heavy goods transport, albeit initially only for empty vehicles coming from Ukraine, was a first step towards resolving the conflict. Previously, at least two rounds of negotiations between Kiev, Warsaw and the truck drivers had failed.
Freight traffic has largely come to a standstill due to the blockades. The Ukrainian employers' association estimates the damage to the Ukrainian economy at more than 400 million euros. At the end of November, EU Transport Commissioner Adina Valean accused Warsaw of not doing enough to find a solution and threatened infringement proceedings.
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Ukrainian trucks are now able to enter Poland through the Dolhobyczow-Uhryniw crossing, which was previously only open to cars and buses. This comes after the EU eased conditions for transport from Ukraine, leading to competition concerns among Polish freight forwarders. Kiev, in response to the EU's actions, has announced this as a first step towards resolving the conflict.
Source: www.ntv.de
