EU Transport Commissioner Adina Velyan called the situation with the blocking of checkpoints on the Polish-Ukrainian border by Polish carriers "unacceptable" and condemned the "almost complete lack of involvement of the Polish authorities." She added that the European Commission reserves the right to intervene and take measures.
This follows from a report by Reuters.
Thus, the round-the-clock blockade in Medyka and three other border crossings, which began on Monday, is a continuation of the protest, as a result of which more than a thousand trucks have been standing in multi-kilometer queues for several days.
Adina Velyan called the situation "unacceptable."
"There is no goodwill in finding a solution... and almost complete lack of involvement of the Polish authorities... which should ensure that the law is respected on this border," Velyan said.
Velyan added: "While I support people's right to protest, the entire EU, not to mention Ukraine, a country currently at war, cannot be held hostage by blocking our external borders."
She emphasized that the European Commission reserves the right to intervene and take measures to ensure compliance with the rules and application of the law.
Polish truckers began their protest on November 6, demanding that the European Union restore the permit system for Ukrainian drivers entering the bloc and for EU drivers entering Ukraine, with exceptions for humanitarian aid and military cargo. The permits were revoked after russia's large-scale invasion of Ukraine.
As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, according to the Federation of Employers of Ukraine, on November 22, the economy of Ukraine recorded losses of more than 400 million euros due to the blocking of the borders by Polish strikers.
On November 23, it became known that another Ukrainian driver died in Poland at a parking lot near the Korczowa-Krakovets checkpoint. This is the second fatality since the start of the strike by Polish carriers.
Polish strikers blocking the border with Ukraine have promised not to expand the protest to other border crossing points with Ukraine but refuse to stop the protest. They called for increased control over trucks due to a significant number of violations among Ukrainian carriers.
Meanwhile, the Union of Motor Carriers of Slovakia (UNAS) announced the beginning of blocking the Vysne Nemecke-Uzhhorod checkpoint on the border with Ukraine from December 1.
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