Polish truck drivers will suspend their protests on the border with Ukraine against their Ukrainian counterpart’s liberalized operating rules until March 1, according to the agreement they reached with the government.
Polish drivers, who began their protest last November, demanded that the European Union restore the requirement for Ukrainian companies to obtain permits to operate in the bloc, a system that had been suspended due to the ongoing war in Ukraine.
“We have an agreement (…) that not only Polish transport companies, but also many businessmen in Poland, the European Commission and Ukraine have been waiting for,” Infrastructure Minister Dariusz Klimczak said at the press conference.
The result of the agreement will be the cessation of protests at the land border crossings in three towns: Korsoa, Hrybin, and Dorohosk. Klimchak stressed that while the protest has been suspended, the “intensive and constructive” dialogue between the government and the protesting drivers will continue “to give a tangible result.”
The agreement includes, among other things, legislative work aimed at making changes in national law, proposals for amendments to the agreement between the European Union and Ukraine, and monitoring the implementation of agreements concluded by the Polish side with the Ukrainian side.
Klimczak thanked the demonstrators for understanding “how important it is for the proper and uninterrupted operation of land border crossings to ensure the uninterrupted supply chain, but also public and traffic safety,” the Infrastructure Ministry quoted him as saying.
Thomas Borkowski of the Committee for the Protection of Transporters and Employers said that certain conditions had been agreed, and the protesting truck drivers would now give the government time to act because it is a new government.
The protests began under the previous conservative PiS government, which, as a result of the October elections, was replaced in power last month by a broad coalition of centrist and left-wing parties (EPP/S&D/Renew). /left) led by new Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
Edita Ozygala, one of the leaders of the truck drivers’ protest in Dorohosk, warned that if the government did not meet the conditions, the protest would resume.
Klymchak appealed to Ukraine to fulfill as soon as possible all the arrangements contained in the signed agreement, which is the responsibility of the Ukrainian side. Later in the day, he discussed the issue during an online meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart Oleksandr Kubrakov.
Kiev complains that the blockade has caused heavy economic losses and hampered its war efforts. “The main reason for the growth in the number of transport operations carried out by Ukrainian transport companies is the response to the consequences of Russian armed aggression,” Kubrakov said.
(Aleksandra Krzysztosik | Euractiv.pl)
