Lorries line up at Poland-Ukraine border as truckers expand blockade
Nov 28, 2023
Warsaw [Poland], November 28: Polish truckers and farmers have started a blockade of one of the busiest border crossings with Ukraine, expanding a protest against what they say is unfair competition from Ukraine and demanding more government support.
The Polish truckers and farmers began an around-the-clock blockade of the southeasternMedyka crossing on Monday.
Medyka is the fourth border point Polish workers have blocked since November 6, stranding thousands of lorries for days in kilometres-long lines.
The Polish truckers said they are losing out to Ukrainian companies, which offer cheaper prices and are transporting goods within the European Union rather than just between the bloc and Ukraine.
After Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the EU lifted permit requirements for Ukrainian truckers entering the bloc and for EU truckers entering Ukraine.
The Polish truckers are demanding the EU reintroduce the old permit system, offering exemptions for the transport only of humanitarian and military supplies. They also want empty trucks from the EU to be excluded from an electronic queueing system in Ukraine and measures to stop Belarusian and Russian hauliers from setting up companies in Poland to get around sanctions.
Polish farmers joining the blockade are pressuring their government to extend support to help them cope with low grain prices.
Source: Qatar Tribune
