The organizers of the Polish truckers’ protest on the Polish-Ukrainian border have announced that the strike will begin three days later than previously announced: on 6 November instead of 3 November. The truckers plan to block truck traffic at the border crossings Korczowa - Krakovets, Hrebenne - Rava-Ruska, and Dorohusk - Yahodyn.
Tomasz Borkowski, co-chairperson of the blockade and organizer of the protest near the Korczowa - Krakovets border crossing, announced this in a statement, the CFTS portal reports, citing the Ukrinform news agency.
According to Borkowski, the protest will begin at 12:00 on 6 November. It has been officially registered with the Polish local authorities and could last until 3 January next year. Truck traffic will be blocked, but humanitarian and military aid to Ukraine will be allowed through.
Borkowski said that the blockade was not directed against Ukraine but aimed at achieving "equal opportunities" with Ukrainian carriers.
According to him, the protesters’ main demands to the Polish Ministry of Infrastructure include the reintroduction of Polish permits for Ukrainian carriers. "Not necessarily the same number as before the war, but we want them to be reintroduced," he said.
Another demand is that Polish trucks be excluded from electronic queues (e-queues) for empty vehicles returning to Poland from Ukraine.
Borkowski also said that the protesters would demand that Poland stop issuing transport licenses to transport companies with non-EU capital.
"It is not only about Ukrainians but also about Turks, Georgians, Russians, and Belarusians, who register many companies in Poland," he said.
According to him, vehicles traveling from Poland to Ukraine will continue to be allowed to cross the border in accordance with the standard procedure.
As previously reported, Polish transporters decided to go on strike because they believe that the liberalization of transport between Poland and Ukraine has led to excessive competition from Ukrainian trucking companies.
As reported earlier, Ukraine and the European Union signed the Agreement on the Carriage of Freight by Road, which eliminates the need for Ukrainian carriers to obtain permits for transit and bilateral international carriage operations between the European Union and Ukraine, on 29 June 2022.
From the signing of the agreement to March 2023, the number of Ukrainian carriers crossing the border into the European Union increased by 53% and the number of crossings increased by 43% compared with the corresponding period in 2021.
