Poland and Ukraine managed to unblock their land border on Tuesday, the 16th of January, with Ukraine’s deputy infrastructure minister Serhiy Derkach saying on Wednesday that Kyiv and Brussels are now working on safeguards to prevent future land border blockages between Ukraine and the European Union (EU), reports Reuters.
Polish truckers, who had been blocking border crossings with Ukraine since November, will end their protests by the 1st of March after signing an agreement with the government.
“It is very important for us that the borders function, the agreement must work and the borders must be free, especially during martial law,” said Reuters, quoting Derkach.
Derkach said Ukraine is cooperating with each EU country to develop a plan to improve border crossing points,
increasing their number, capacity and activating different export and import routes to reduce the risk of renewed border blockages in the future.
Polish hauliers protested against what they consider unfair competition from Ukrainian truckers, demanding that the EU reinstate the system according to which Ukrainian companies need permits to operate in the EU and that European hauliers entering Ukraine obtain the same permits.
The latest agreement includes monitoring of the solutions that Poland and Ukraine have jointly developed, discussions with the EU on its agreement with Ukraine and negotiations with the European Commission on financial support for Polish truckers.
In addition, the agreement provides for reinforced road checks to prevent Ukrainian hauliers from offering services not covered by the agreement, writes Reuters.
Also read: Polish trucking companies to block Ukrainian border crossings in protest
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