Ukraine and Poland agree to speed up passage of empty trucks at three checkpoints
The relevant ministries of Ukraine and Poland have agreed on measures to reduce truck queues at border crossing points, which have remained blocked for the fourth week in a row due to a strike by Polish carriers.
According to Ukrinform, this was reported by the press service of the Ministry of Community Development, Territories and Infrastructure of Ukraine.
"The Ministry of Reconstruction of Ukraine and the Ministry of Infrastructure of Poland are jointly developing measures to unblock the border. Deputy Minister of Development of Communities, Territories and Infrastructure of Ukraine Serhiy Derkach and State Secretary of the Ministry of Infrastructure of Poland Rafal Weber met in Warsaw," the statement reads.
The measures agreed upon by the parties include, in particular, the opening of the Uhryniv-Dolhobychuv checkpoint for empty trucks to increase border capacity and reduce the burden on other checkpoints.
In addition, separate passes for empty vehicles will be created in the eCheck system at the Yahodyn-Dorohusk and Krakivets-Korchova checkpoints.
"It is at these checkpoints that there are physical lanes for empty vehicles directly at the checkpoint on both the Ukrainian and Polish sides," the Ministry of Reconstruction explained.
In addition, it was agreed to launch a pilot project with registration in eCheck immediately before crossing the border at the Nyzhankovychi - Malhowice checkpoint for a period of one month.
At the same time, the Ministry of Reconstruction noted that the issue of abolishing or amending the "transport visa-free regime" between the EU and Ukraine was not discussed at the meeting and was not on the agenda.
As reported by Ukrinform, on November 6, Polish carriers began a blockade of truck traffic near the three largest checkpoints on the border with Ukraine: "Korczowa-Krakowiec, Hrebenne-Rava-Ruska, and Dorohusk-Yagodyn. Among the main demands is the return of the practice of permits for Ukrainian carriers, which was abolished by the agreement with the European Union until June 30, 2024. The protesters want the agreement to be terminated and the permit regime to be restored from January 1.
On November 23, Polish farmers joined the protest of local carriers and, putting forward their demands, began blocking the movement of freight transport at the Medyka-Shehyni checkpoint near Przemysl.
According to the State Border Guard Service, as of the morning of December 1, about 2,100 trucks were queuing to enter Ukraine at the Ukrainian-Polish border.