Slovaks and Poles have the same demands: eliminate preferences for Ukrainian drivers and equalize their rights with those of their European colleagues.
Photo: REUTERS
An intense debate has broken out in Ukraine over how much the country’s economy is losing due to the Polish blockade of road transporters at the border. Some experts say that the losses due to this blockade amount to 400 million euros per month. Others have already counted up to one and a half billion dollars in the first month. The diversity of opinions is explained by the fact that some consider direct damages, while others estimate comprehensive damages, including all indirect damages.
The blockade affected the German automobile industry and other industries in Germany, as electrical cables manufactured in Ukraine stopped arriving on time at German factories, and Latvia, whose food industry companies stopped receiving cheap raw materials from Ukraine.
On Saturday the situation on the Polish-Ukrainian border had calmed down a bit. At the Krakovets-Karchova checkpoint, Ukrainian truck drivers even went on a hunger strike on Friday. Surely, to a certain extent forced, because many drivers queuing at the border already eat to be happy, but can only dream of a shower. Also because of the attitude of the Polish police towards them.
– We wanted to participate in a peaceful action: negotiations with the protesters. The police blocked us. About 250 people on one side. We were not allowed to reach the protesters. The Polish police gave the green light to three men, volunteers, to leave. They listened to our demands, but no one accepted them. “We are on hunger strike, but now we are still waiting for a meeting with the consul,” said one of the Ukrainian drivers, and another said that “there are 1207 in line, there is only us, refrigerators and fuel trucks.”
But the hunger strike never took place. Although the Ukrainians demanded that the Poles pass through the checkpoint at least 14 hours per hour, and the Poles initially accepted 1 truck during this period, the parties managed to reach a consensus: 7 trucks per hour, not counting humanitarian and cargo military, which was decided to travel on a separate lane. And the Ukrainians finally called off the hunger strike.
The Poles opened another checkpoint, “Ugrinov-Dolgobichuv”, for the free passage of empty trucks.
It seemed that the issue had moved forward, but then Slovak transporters entered the process and blocked the only checkpoint for trucks on the border between Slovakia and Ukraine. And on Saturday morning, the Slovaks were already picking up more than a thousand Ukrainian trucks on the way there.
It is noteworthy that Slovaks and Poles have the same demands: the elimination of preferences for Ukrainian drivers and the equalization of their rights with their European colleagues, who turned out to be second-class carriers.
But then another disaster (problem) happened for kyiv. A group of French sugar and sugar beet producers (CGB) demanded to limit Ukrainian sugar imports to the EU, as quotas allocated to Kiev were exhausted in January and Ukrainian dumping threatens ruin for farmers and sugar beet producers. French sugar. The French believe that the best way out of this crisis would be to redirect Ukrainian sugar exports away from the European Union.
“We need a clear answer from the European Commission on the future management of this influx of sugar,” the French producers said.
And this answer may scare Kyiv. Furthermore, every day there are more and more similar questions to the governing bodies of the EU and to kyiv about Ukraine and unfair competition on its part.
Does Ukraine still want to join the EU?
THE NAIS IS OFFICIAL EDITOR ON NAIS NEWS