2023-12-04 14:56:03
For almost a month, Polish truck drivers have been blocking several crossing points at the Ukrainian border, allowing only a few trucks to pass. Queues of several hundred vehicles stretch on the roads in the middle of snow-covered fields. Their drivers, resigned or angry, camp in the cabins of their tractors.
Since November 6, entrepreneurs have been protesting against ” unfair competition “ Ukrainian carriers. They ask the European Union to reinstate the obligation for the latter to obtain a permit to access the European market, removed following the Russian invasion of February 2022. A demand difficult to satisfy, given the support resolved from the EU to Ukraine at war.
“We will not give in”
“On permits, we will not give in, we must return to the pre-war situation,” declares to The cross the chairman of the defense committee of carriers and transport entrepreneurs, Waldemar Jaszczur. Ukrainian truck drivers charge much lower prices than Poles, he says: “They took 98% of the transport between the EU and Ukraine. »
Ironically, this conflict is reminiscent of another: in 2016-2017, French and German carriers, irritated by the place taken by the Poles – 24% of the European market – had sought to force Polish companies to pay their drivers the minimum wage in force in France and Germany.
Initially passive, the government ended up reacting: outgoing Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki spoke out in favor of reinstating the permits. But the final decision rests with Brussels. Infrastructure Minister Alvin Gajadhur recently met with carriers and asked the EU to create a commission to “evaluate the consequences” of the EU-Ukraine agreement. A meeting on this issue is planned in Brussels, this Monday, December 4.
Reinforced controls on Ukrainian trucks
The authorities have also decided to strengthen controls on Ukrainian trucks crossing Poland in order to verify compliance with European regulations. The truckers then decided not to extend their action to other crossing points. The latter emphasize that they allow humanitarian aid, fuel or perishable products to pass through. Military transports, for their part, use reserved corridors.
In addition to the reintroduction of European licenses for Ukrainians, carriers are requesting an adjustment to the “electronic queuing” system, in force on the Ukrainian side. According to them, this system favors Ukrainian carriers, while Poles have to wait in Ukraine between ten and twelve days: so much wasted time and increased costs for businesses.
A first victory
On Sunday December 3, Polish truckers obtained a first victory: following an agreement between kyiv and Warsaw, an additional lane will be opened this Monday at the border for empty trucks coming from Ukraine.
The president of the defense committee of carriers and transport entrepreneurs is counting on the extension of the protests to other countries. “It has already started in Slovakia (where truckers blocked a border post on December 1st) and we will soon see him elsewhere »prédit Waldemar Jaszczur.
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