The economic consequences of the protest of Polish carriers at the border with Ukraine are “very difficult” – the European Commission

The European Commission is counting on the Polish and Ukrainian governments to find an optimal solution that will allow the movement of Ukrainian trucks blocked by Polish carriers to be restored. This was stated by the representative of the European Commission, Adalbert Janz, in Brussels.

The spokesman confirmed that on November 15, a high-ranking delegation from the European Commission visited the border crossing point in Poland blocked by carriers.

“Yesterday there was a visit of a high-ranking delegation of the European Commission (…) to the border crossing point in Poland, where protests are taking place, to participate in discussions with both sides – the government and the protester. This visit allows us to see the situation on the ground and assess the consequences of this protest, which are very significant. Queues at the borders are extremely long. Conditions for truck drivers are very difficult. There are also very significant economic consequences of this protest. Of course, we are carefully measuring the impact of this on the ground,” Yantz noted.

Commenting on the scale of the impact, the European Commission could not provide specific figures, but noted that it will be possible to return to this issue when updated statistics appear.

“We don’t have specific figures we can provide at this stage as to the actual impact on trade. But this is a good question, and we will definitely see if at some stage it will be reflected in the export figures, in particular in the agricultural part, but also from the other side,” said the representative of the European Commission, Eric Mamer.

Responding to RFE/RL’s questions about possible solutions regarding the situation at the border, the representative of the European Commission confirmed that they had been discussed.

“These are decisions that the Polish government, in particular, should be able to consider, including the discussion on empty trucks crossing the border – it is possible to facilitate the movement of these trucks. However, these discussions must continue. They have not yet been completed,” said the spokesperson of the European Commission.

At the same time, the spokesman of the European Commission did not answer RFE/RL’s questions about possible punitive measures by the European Commission against Poland, which were reported by the Polish media RMF FM. He also did not comment on whether the Polish authorities are making enough efforts to solve the problem.

“We have no right to evaluate the efforts of the authorities. I would never be able to make such comments. Our role in this context is to facilitate, engage in discussions, assist the authorities and protesters, and find solutions and conclusions. And these discussions are ongoing,” Yantz noted, adding that there is no information on further steps and their time frames.

Commenting on the demands of Polish carriers to introduce commercial permits for their Ukrainian colleagues, Janc confirmed the position that the European Commission had voiced earlier.

“Any re-introduction of a system of permits or quotas for road transport is legally impossible, as it would be incompatible with the Road Transport Agreement between Ukraine and the EU. This agreement on road transport, of course, was also concluded with the consent of the member states,” Yantz reminded.

“First of all, the national bodies of both the member states and Ukraine should ensure compliance with the provisions of the agreement in practice. Also, if there are problems with implementation, this is something that we can discuss and help the authorities with discussions in order to solve any such problems in practice – in dialogue,” summed up the spokesperson of the European Commission.

Due to excessive competition after the liberalization of international transportation between Ukraine and the EU, Polish carriers announced a strike. Polish transporters seek the return of permits for Ukrainian drivers and demand the removal of Polish cars from the electronic queue, as well as the release of empty Polish trucks from the territory of Ukraine outside the queue.

Polish carriers have blocked the movement of trucks at three checkpoints on the Polish-Ukrainian border since November 6. These are the checkpoints “Grebenne – Rava-Ruska”, “Korchova – Krakowiec”, “Dorogusk – Yagodin”.

Ukraine and the European Union signed the Agreement on cargo transportation by road on June 29, 2022. Its initial term of validity was one year with the possibility of extension. Subsequently, the agreement was extended until the end of June 2024.

According to the Ministry of Infrastructure, after the signing of the Agreement, the number of carriers crossing the border to the EU increased by 53% compared to the same period in 2021, and the number of crossings increased by 43%.