European Commission regrets failure of talks on unblocking Ukrainian trucks headed to Poland

MOSCOW. Nov 17 (Interfax) - The EU regrets that no solution has been found so far to stop the protest of Polish carriers who are blocking Ukrainian trucks at the border, European Commission spokesman Adalbert Jahnz said.

"The Commission regrets that tripartite negotiations involving representatives of the Polish and Ukrainian governments and protesters were unsuccessful," Ukrainian media quoted Jahnz as saying at a press briefing in Brussels on Thursday.

In his words, a high-ranking European Commission delegation led by the transport director general visited a border checkpoint on Thursday.

"The idea was to discuss the issue with government officials and protesters. The visit allowed us to understand and fully appreciate the consequences of this demonstration on the ground. The lines at the border are very long. Truck drivers are dealing with very difficult conditions. We are fully aware of the economic consequences," Jahnz said.

The European Commission hopes that the Polish and Ukrainian authorities will continue their discussion and achieve a result, he said.

Polish carriers have been protesting at three checkpoints on the Ukrainian-Polish border since November 6, demanding that the authorities limit competition with Ukrainian companies by resuming the issuance of permits for Ukrainian commercial trucks.

"We have always made clear and repeat that no new system of quotas and permits for heavy vehicles is legally possible. This would contravene the freight transport agreement between the EU and Ukraine, concluded with the approval of EU member states," Jahnz said.

This means that the authorities of EU member states and Ukraine should guarantee compliance with the agreement and seek solutions through dialogue in case of any problems, he said.

"A meeting between Polish, Ukrainian and EU representatives where the protest was discussed did not bring any satisfactory results," Ukrainian media quoted protest co-organizer Rafal Meckler as saying

Slovak colleagues of Polish carriers also joined the protest. They are planning to start blocking the border with Ukraine near the village of Vyshne Nemecke.