The Ukrainian grain issue deepens divisions in the EU.Continue reading
There is a significant queue of trucks at the Záhony border crossing point in eastern Hungary due to the blockade of Polish and Slovakian truckers. Hungarian and Ukrainian customs and border police are working continuously to quickly clear the backlog of trucks, but the capacity of the Tisza bridge and the crossing point is severely limiting the possibilities.
Polish and Slovak hauliers are blocking access to and from Ukraine. As a result, traffic at the Záhony border crossing point has increased significantly, with a significant queue of trucks on the Hungarian side, sometimes exceeding ten kilometers, waiting to exit.
According to the information, as a result of the coordinated work of the Hungarian and Ukrainian authorities, the throughput of truck traffic has increased and customs services on both sides are working to further increase their capacities. The Polish and Slovak blockade has led to an increasing number of hauliers heading for the congested, but still reliable, Záhony border crossing.
The situation has no impact on the movement of passenger traffic, but due to the heavy traffic, increased attention should be paid when approaching the border crossing point, NAV said.
The blockade is a result of Ukrainian hauliers exploiting new European legislation that allows them to register their companies in Poland, circumventing customs and taxation rules, thus seriously undercutting prices at which trucking companies operate. In response to this, the Union of Road Hauliers of Slovakia (UNAS) blocked the border crossing on the Slovak side, expressing its support for Polish colleagues who have been protesting for several days against the liberalization of EU rules for Ukrainian hauliers.
Slovak hauliers are threatening to block the border with Ukraine completely if the European Commission (EC) does not address the situation. They demand that Brussels introduce transport permits for Ukrainian vehicles because European companies cannot compete with them.
Polish truckers have blocked the #Ukraine – #Poland border for Ukrainian truckers. No more goods & services that undercut Polish workers. #Ukraine #UkraineWar #UkraineRussiaWar #UkraineNazis #ZelenskyWarCriminal pic.twitter.com/29t2t5sKEg
— Soror Inimicorum ☦️ (@SororInimicorum) November 12, 2023
“We will wait seven days to see if they will answer us and whether they will deal with those permits or not. Unless there is some kind of a shift, the Poles will continue to block the border and we will join in, saying that we will close the whole of Vyšné Nemecké crossing with Ukraine,” said Stanislav Skala, UNAS chairman. He announced that his Hungarian colleagues are already making similar calls.
UNAS disagrees with the European Commission’s regulation, which after the invasion of Ukraine by Russian troops, cancelled the issuance of permits for Ukrainian carriers to enter the EU.
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