Dozens of Polish truck drivers disrupted traffic at border crossings with Ukraine on November 6 to protest what they see as government inaction over the loss of business to foreign rivals in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Reuters reported.
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| Trucks wait to cross the Ukraine-Poland border, at the Rava-Ruska checkpoint, Lviv region, Ukraine, April 17. (Source: Reuters) |
Truck drivers from Ukraine have been exempted from obtaining permits to cross the Polish border since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and companies from Russia and Belarus have set up entities in Poland, Polish truck drivers say.
These people called for pushing back against increased competition from Ukrainian carriers after transport activities between Ukraine and the European Union (EU) were liberalized.
Their demands include reimposing restrictions on the number of Ukrainian-registered trucks entering Poland and banning transport companies with capital from outside the European Union, among others.
“We are protesting because of the disruption in road transport to Polish carriers… caused by the uncontrolled flow of capital from Belarusian, Russian and Ukrainian companies… companies with eastern capital,” said Karol Rychlik, owner of a transport company and head of a trucking company.
The Polish State Border Guard Service said that cargo traffic at the Yahodyn-Dorohusk, Krakivets-Korchova and Rava-Ruska-Hrebenne border crossings had been severely disrupted, affecting both entry into Poland and exit from Ukraine. According to protest organizers, they are only allowing one truck through per hour, along with vehicles carrying security products, humanitarian aid, animals and perishable goods.
Polish trucking companies have been arguing for months over Ukraine's special temporary access to EU roads, granted after the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
The companies say the decision is hurting their business. On November 3, Polish truck drivers staged a massive protest and threatened to block all border crossings between Poland and Ukraine.
According to the President of the Polish Association of Employers in the Transport and Logistics Sector Maciej Wronski, freight transport between Poland and Ukraine is facing difficulties because Poland has completely lost this market to Ukrainian carriers, which have significantly increased their activities since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Polish transport companies have asked the Ukrainian government to reissue transport permits that were revoked under the visa-free transport regime. The road freight agreement signed in June 2022 removed the requirement for Ukrainian transport companies to have permits for transport between the two countries and transit to EU member states. After the agreement, in the first year, the number of trucks crossing the Ukraine-Poland border heading to the EU increased by 53%, while the number of cross-border shipments increased by 43%.
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