Polish truckers resume blockade of Ukrainian border crossing
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Polish drivers want the EU to reinstate a system whereby Ukrainian firms need permits to operate in the bloc.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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WARSAW - Polish truckers on Dec 18 resumed their blockade of one of the main crossings at the Ukrainian border a week after it was temporarily lifted, a protest leader said.
Polish drivers have been blocking several crossings with Ukraine since Nov 6
They are demanding the European Union reinstate a system whereby Ukrainian companies need permits to operate in the bloc and the same for European truckers to enter Ukraine.
The protest initially affected three crossings but was then expanded to four.
The blockade at the Jahodyn-Dorohusk border crossing was temporarily lifted after a local mayor took action to stop it because he feared it would threaten local jobs.
However, on Dec 15, the District Court in Lublin overturned the mayor’s decision prohibiting the gathering of truckers.
It meant that carriers could start protesting again from Dec 18, state-run news agency PAP reported.
“Now we are going to let 10 vehicles per hour through,” said Mr Tomasz Borkowski, leader of the Committee to Protect Transporters and Transport Employers.
“We gave certain things that the Ukrainian government must do by Dec 20. If they do them, then maybe we will suspend the protest and up until that time, we agreed that we would let through 10 vehicles per hour.”
He said that if the protesters’ demands were not met, they would impose stricter limits on how many vehicles could cross but declined to say exactly what the number would be.
According to data from Poland’s Customs office, the wait at the Dorohusk crossing was 68 hours on Dec 18. Ukrainian Customs said there were some 2,000 trucks in the queue. REUTERS
