Ukraine's business partners from Austria, Belgium, Italy, Netherlands call on EU companies to boycott Polish carriers until they unblock border

MOSCOW. Dec 8 (Interfax) - The business associations which are partners of Ukraine from Austria, Belgium, Italy, and the Netherlands have signed an open letter calling on all companies of the European Union to refrain from extending the existing transport contracts and signing the new ones until Polish carriers unblock the Ukrainian-Polish border.

"We urge all EU companies and representatives of relevant transport sectors not to renew transport contracts or award new contracts to Polish transport companies as long as they continue to block the Polish-Ukrainian border," Ukrainian media outlets quoted the text of the open letter they obtained in Brussels as saying.

According to the letter, export from Ukraine has decreased by staggering 40% in November, and "two Ukrainian truck drivers have already died in the 30-kilometer-long traffic jams at the border posts."

The signatories pointed out the stance of EU Commissioner for Transport, Adina Valean, who said that the border blocking is "completely unacceptable" and that Poland is risking fines due to such actions of Polish carriers, but "this will come much too late, for the Ukrainian people."

After listing the demands made by the Polish carriers, the authors of the letter expressed hope that if Western European companies boycott Polish transport companies for as long as they continue blocking the border, such actions would "quickly end."

"The Western European market is much more important than the Ukrainian transport market for these transport companies. We have no problems with trade union actions and the Polish transport unions can carry them out within Poland" without affecting Ukraine, the letter said.

"The open letter on the boycott of Polish transport companies" is dated December 6 and signed by the Belgium-Ukraine Business Club, the Ukrainian-Austrian Association, the Netherlands-Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce, and the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Italy.