Ukraine will not discuss any changes to the "transport visa-free" with the EU

Ukraine will continue to resolve with Poland the problem of blocking the border by Polish carriers, but will not discuss amendments to the Agreement on the Liberalization of Freight Transportation between Ukraine and the EU (the so-called "transport visa-free"). This was stated by the Deputy Prime Minister for the Reconstruction of Ukraine, the Minister of Development of Communities, Territories and Infrastructure of Ukraine Oleksandr Kubrakov on November 9 at a meeting with the Minister of Infrastructure of Poland Andrzej Adamczyk.

As a result of blocking the border by Polish carriers from both sides, more than 20,000 trucks have accumulated in queues, which causes losses to the economy of Poland, Ukraine and other countries that cannot transport their goods and fulfill contractual obligations.

At the meeting, Ukraine stated that it respects the right to protests and is ready for a constructive dialogue to solve the problem, as blocking the borders complicates logistics and negatively affects the economy of both Ukraine and the EU. The Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine is ready to help Polish colleagues to resolve the situation with blocking of borders, provide necessary clarifications and hold meetings, but will not discuss any changes or cancellation of the Transport Agreement between Ukraine and the EU.

Polish carriers started blocking border crossings with Ukraine on November 6 and are not going to end it, despite the huge queues of trucks on both sides. They demand the introduction for Ukrainian companies of commercial permits for the transportation of goods (except for humanitarian aid and goods for the military), the suspension of licenses and their verification for companies created after the start of the war in Ukraine.

Currently, the waiting time at the border crossing "Dorogusk" is 55 hours, at "Grebenny" - up to 140 hours, at "Korcheva" - more than 100 hours, although at the latter the protesters began to let 15 trucks pass per hour, while on Friday they only let through one car per hour.

A member of the Committee for the Protection of Transport Carriers and Employers, as well as the head of the strike at "Korcheva", Tomasz Borkovskiy said that on November 13, a delegation of three representatives will hold negotiations with Ukrainian government officials, where they will demand the restoration of commercial permits for Ukrainian and Polish carriers, the exclusion of Polish and European cars from the "e-Queue" system, revocation and termination of licenses for companies whose capital is located outside the EU.