Polish truckers to suspend protest on Ukrainian border until March 1 - agreement
MOSCOW. Jan 16 (Interfax) - The Polish Ministry of Infrastructure on Tuesday signed an agreement with protesting Polish truck drivers to suspend until March 1 the blockade of three Polish-Ukrainian border crossing points that began on November 6, Ukrainian media reported, quoting Polish Infrastructure Minister Dariusz Klimczak.
"We have signed an agreement with representatives of the Polish transport industry, which will result in the cessation of protests at road border crossing points in three locations until March 1: Korczowa, Hrebenne, Dorohusk," Klimczak said.
The parties entered into mutual agreements to create conditions for the continuation of efforts to resolve the problems of the Polish transport sector and restore balance in the international road transport market between Poland and Ukraine.
The agreement contains seven points, among them legislative work aimed at changing national legislation, proposals to amend the EU-Ukraine agreement, monitoring the implementation of agreements reached between the Polish and Ukrainian sides, including in terms of improving border control registration of empty vehicles from Ukraine, strengthening the control system of Polish services to identify unauthorized transport not covered by the EU-Ukraine agreement, as well as analysis of possible financial support.
As part of the agreement, representatives of the Protesters Committee were invited to work in a team created by the Ministry of Infrastructure to solve problems on the Polish-Ukrainian border.
"I hope that by March 1, 2024, it will be possible to implement the actions specified in the agreement we had signed. My goal is to achieve a balance in the international road freight transport market between Poland and Ukraine and ensure appropriate protection of the interests of domestic road haulers," Klimczak said.
The leader of the Polish protesters, Rafal Mekler, said on social media after the signing of the agreement that the protesters expect the government to fulfill its obligations and comply with the terms of the agreement.
Polish protesters have ended their blockade of the Korczowa-Krakovets checkpoint, the Ukrainian State Customs Service said on Telegram on Tuesday.
"Today, Polish protesters lifted their blockade of the Korczowa-Krakovets checkpoint. As of this hour [17:00 Moscow time], about 300 trucks are lining up to enter Ukraine from Poland," it said.
Polish haulers began blocking the Yagodin-Dorohusk, Krakovets-Korczowa and Rava Russkaya-Hrebenne border crossings on November 6. The protest spread to the Shegini-Medyka border crossing on November 22. Only crossings handling empty trucks and light duty vehicles have not been affected by the blockade. The protest at Shegini-Medyka came to an end a month later.
The main demand of the Polish road carriers is abolition of the agreement on the liberalization of transport between Ukraine and the EU, so-called visa-free transport. In their opinion, this agreement has caused freight tariffs to collapse and has affected the European market for transport services.
The protest has seriously affected Ukraine's agricultural exports. The European Commission considers the situation on the Polish-Ukrainian border unacceptable.