Polish-Ukrainian border crossing to be opened to trucks on Monday
A border crossing between Poland and Ukraine will be partially opened to commercial traffic on Monday, Ukraine's infrastructure minister announced on Sunday.
Oleksandr Kubrakov said the Uhryniv-Dolhobyczow crossing would be opened to empty trucks leaving Ukraine as the first point on a list of actions aimed at unblocking the border.
"We're opening the Uhryniv-Dolhobyczow crossing for the movement of empty lorries leaving Ukraine," he wrote on Facebook. "This is a border crossing that usually functions only for passenger cars and buses."
"In cooperation with the Polish Ministry of Infrastructure and the Lubelskie Province with the support of the European Commission (DG MOVE) it has been possible to achieve an agreement in the matter of opening a lane for lorries of a weight of 7.5 tonnes," the post continued.
Kubrakov said that this was the first move Ukraine was making to unblock the border, reduce queues, and increase the flow of traffic between Poland and Ukraine. He added that work was ongoing towards ending a blockade that has seen long tail-backs in recent weeks due the actions of protesting Polish hauliers as part of a dispute between Poland and Ukraine over international trucking rights.
The drivers, who started their protest on November 6, are demanding the reintroduction of commercial permits for Ukrainian companies carrying goods apart from humanitarian aid and military equipment, as well as the suspension of operating permits for Ukrainian haulage firms set up after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine. They complain their business has been undercut by Ukrainian firms, which pay much less to their truckers and thus have lower operating costs, but are competing with Polish firms. (PAP)
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