Polish Minister of Infrastructure Dariusz Klimczak and European Commissioner for Transport Adina-Ioana Vălean have discussed the “Agreement between the European Union and Ukraine on the Carriage of Freight by Road,” which is one of the demands of the Polish truckers who recently blocked the Polish-Ukrainian border.
The CFTS portal reported this, citing the Ukrinform news agency.
During a meeting with Vălean, Klimczak stressed the Polish government's determination to work with the European Commission and Ukraine to develop constructive solutions that would protect the transport markets of the European Union’s member states and simultaneously make further assistance to Ukraine possible.
The Polish minister of infrastructure emphasized that one such solution would be to amend the current EU-Ukraine agreement, the proposals for which Poland submitted to the European Commission on 16 January this year.
Klimczak expressed the hope that it will be possible to amend the EU-Ukraine agreement and that the amendment will come into force on 1 July this year.
"I would like to emphasize that we want to help Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression, and we are aware that we are a window to the world for our neighbor. However, our support cannot be at the expense of the Polish transport industry," he said.
The Polish minister provided, among other things, data from the Polish Border Guard Service, as well as data registered by the e-TOLL system, when presenting Warsaw's proposals on amendment of the agreement.
"Their analysis indicates an increase in the share of Ukrainian carriers on the market of road transport between Poland and Ukraine and a significant increase in the number of kilometers driven on Polish toll roads, which in turn may indicate that they are engaged in cabotage and cross-trading," the ministry said.
The minister also mentioned the large number of empty trucks entering the European Union from Ukraine, which contradicts the main goal of the EU-Ukraine agreement, which is to facilitate the import of goods from Ukraine.
During the discussion, Commissioner Vălean reiterated her openness to analyzing the Polish proposals for amending the EU-Ukraine agreement but emphasized that all members of the community must agree on them.
