Slovak drivers present help for his or her Polish counterparts with an hour-long blockade on the border
Truck drivers in Slovakia briefly blocked a border crossing with Ukraine on Thursday, demanding safety from what they understand as unfair competitors from Ukrainian haulers and threatening a everlasting blockade, just like the one in place in Poland.
The protest on the Vysne Nemecke-Uzhgorod checkpoint was organized by the Union of Auto Transporters (UNAS) and was touted as an expression of solidarity with Polish truckers. Each blame the EU management for its resolution to droop a system of permits for Ukrainian drivers, one in every of many measures to help Kiev economically because it fights in opposition to Russia.
The protesters say Ukrainian drivers do not need to watch the principles that transport corporations within the EU are topic to, so can outcompete Poles and Slovaks. Beforehand, solely a restricted variety of permits had been issued every year, assuaging the stress.
“Our purpose is to help our Polish colleagues, in addition to all carriers within the EU. We ask the European Fee to instantly introduce transportation permits for Ukrainian autos,” UNAS chairman Stanislav Skala instructed the media.
He warned that if the state of affairs doesn’t change inside seven days, a Polish-style blockade would be the group’s subsequent step.
The motion in Poland began in early November and affected Slovakia, as drivers rerouted their journeys. A line of vehicles ready for a test so long as 25 km was reported on the Slovakian aspect of the border this week. Border officers can deal with roughly 170 autos a day, however an estimated 800 largely Ukrainian vehicles had been attempting to cross over.
Kiev’s ambassador to Warsaw, Vassily Zvarych, has denounced Polish protesters, calling their blockade a “strike within the again” of Ukraine.
Each EU nations beforehand imposed nationwide bans on Ukrainian grain, after an EU-mandated restriction expired in September, in a bid to guard farmers from competitors. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky decried the measures as “un-European”.
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