Polish truck drivers and farmers impose a round-the-clock blockade of the southeastern Medica crossing.
Polish truck drivers and farmers have begun blocking one of the busiest border crossings with Ukraine, expanding their protest against what they say is unfair competition from Ukraine, and demanding more government support.
Polish truck drivers and farmers began a round-the-clock blockade of the southeastern Medica crossing on Monday.
Medica is the fourth border point to be closed by Polish workers since November 6, leaving thousands of trucks stranded for days in kilometres-long queues.
Polish truck drivers said they were losing out to Ukrainian companies, which offer cheaper prices and transport goods within the EU and not just between the bloc and Ukraine.
Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the European Union raised permit requirements for Ukrainian truck drivers entering the bloc and for EU truck drivers entering Ukraine.
‘No intention of giving up’
Polish truck drivers are calling on the European Union to reintroduce the old permit system, with exemptions for transporting humanitarian and military supplies only.
They also want empty trucks from the EU excluded from Ukraine’s electronic queuing system and take measures to prevent Belarusian and Russian transport companies from setting up companies in Poland to circumvent sanctions.
Polish farmers who joined the blockade are pressing their government to provide support to help them cope with falling grain prices.
Thomas Borkowski, leader of the Polish transport union, said the workers were committed to continuing the blockade until their demands were met.
“I would like to end this protest as soon as possible because it is as stressful for us as it is for everyone around us,” Borkowski said.
He added: “We have no intention of surrendering, and we will hold out until we get our conditions.”
He waits so long
Protesters said only two trucks are allowed to pass through the Medica border crossing per hour, with exceptions for humanitarian aid and war supplies.
This resulted in trucks waiting for 127 hours to cross the Medica crossing, one of eight land border crossings with Ukraine, according to data from the Polish border guard.
Ukraine said the protest was hurting its fragile wartime economy by hindering exports and stopping supplies of necessities such as automobile gas from entering the country.
With Ukraine’s Black Sea ports, which were the main export route before the war, closed by Russia, Ukrainian companies are relying on roads and railways to redirect exports and imports.
The Ukrainian Ministry of Infrastructure estimates that an average of 40,000 to 50,000 trucks cross the border with Poland monthly through eight existing crossings, which is double the number it was before the war. Most of the goods are transported by the Ukrainian transport fleet.
