Hungarian, Slovakian and Polish Truckers Are Blocking Border Checkpoints With Ukraine – Protests Over Kiev’s Haulers Privileges Are Hurting Military Campaign
After Black Sea ports were blocked by Russia, the land exits faced disruptive protests by neighbor truckers.
Hungarian freight carriers, starting December 11, begin an official demonstration and block a checkpoint on the border with Ukraine, according to the Association of Hungarian Road Carriers.
Yahoo reported:
“Truckers from Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia argue they are being unfairly treated by existing EU policies because their Ukrainian counterparts do not have to purchase expensive permits.
Prior to Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukrainian drivers had to apply for permits to enter EU countries. But Brussels suspended transport permits last year until June 2024 as part of the Solidarity Lanes Initiative to help Ukraine’s struggling export industry after Russia blocked Ukraine’s Black Sea ports. The protesters are demanding the EU reinstate permits for Ukrainian drivers.”
The development comes right after Truckers in Slovakia joined the Polish counterparts, who pioneered staging blockades at the border with Ukraine.
The spreading of the blockades in a protest over competition creates a situation that Kiev says has disrupted crucial humanitarian aid imports.
Bloomberg reported:
“The Union of Slovak Haulers began the labor action on Friday at the country’s only crossing for freight transport, extending blockades along the Poland-Ukraine frontier that’s caused traffic chaos for weeks. The Slovak drivers are demanding that the European Union reverse a wartime decision to loosen licensing rules for Ukrainian truckers.
The disruption to competition has had a ‘devastating impact on the Slovak transport market, but also on the markets of other neighboring states and throughout the EU’, the union said in a statement. The organization, which will gauge whether a Dec. 4 meeting of EU transport ministers in Brussels address their demands, said the blockade will last until further notice.
Polish truckers began blocking three crossings with Ukraine on Nov. 6, triggering pileups of tens of thousands of vehicles on both sides of the border in freezing temperatures. Two Ukrainian drivers have died. The government in Kyiv accused Poland of inaction as trade is disrupted as the country fights off the Russian invasion. Warsaw has pointed the finger at Kyiv.”
Meanwhile, the month-long border blockade by the Polish truck drivers has caused severe disruptions to crucial supplies for Ukraine’s war effort.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/12/locked-hungarian-slovakian-polish-truckers-are-blocking-border/