Border on Lockdown
On November 21, the last border crossing between Poland and Ukraine will be shut down. Is this the stance of the Polish government? It stems from demands by several local transport companies aiming to challenge the European Commission's granted free access to the market for Ukrainian freight carriers. Truck queues at border crossings have reached several thousand, with wait times extending to weeks. This crisis not only hampers Ukrainians' ability to resist Russian invasion but also hits the pockets of Europeans.
The local administration in the Medyka district, located in eastern Poland, has granted permission for a protest from November 21 to 26 at the Medyka-Shehyni border crossing. This will add to the plight of Ukrainian carriers who already face a queue of over 2,000 vehicles and an 11-day wait at this crossing. This chaos has been ongoing at the Ukraine-Poland border since November 6, with prior delays, though not as severe.
What led to this? The full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, caused a blockade of Ukraine's Black Sea ports. Consequently, maritime transport from Ukraine was halted. The ability to transport export and import cargoes by rail is limited due to the narrower gauge of European railways compared to Ukrainian ones.
In the summer of 2022, due to agreements on unblocking Ukrainian Black Sea ports, a portion of export cargo began moving by sea. However, in the summer of 2023, Russia terminated this agreement. Ukrainian naval forces established a new transport corridor from Ukrainian ports to border areas of the sea with Romania and Bulgaria, enabling the resumption of maritime connections. However, the scale remains insufficient. Many goods still travel by road.
The need for truck transportation increased further as Russian missile strikes damaged Ukrainian oil refineries. Consequently, fuel is primarily delivered by tanker trucks. Trucks also transport Ukrainian grain, oil, and other food products westward. This food is delivered to both European consumers and European ports for further shipments to Asia and Africa. In the reverse direction, trucks carry most of the imported goods needed in Ukraine, including military equipment supplied by European and American partners.
Over a year ago, the European Commission significantly eased international transport for Ukrainian transport companies, effectively eliminating so-called transportation permits. This was done under the Paths of Solidarity project, providing alternative transport routes to blocked maritime transport. Now, a group of Polish transport companies in the eastern regions of the country seeks to end this liberal regime introduced by the European Commission. To achieve this, they are blocking roads near border crossing points.
Photo: Jacek Sokół, representative of the Polish Committee for the Protection of Carriers and Employers, acknowledges that companies personel, not the drivers themselves, are participating in the blockade. Source: Screenshot SuspilneTV
What Are They Demanding
Firstly, it's worth noting the rather interesting composition of the protesters. These aren't drivers; they are personnel from transport companies, as openly stated by Jacek Sokół, a representative of the Polish Committee for the Protection of Carriers and Employers. In other words, these are representatives of transport companies, mainly located in eastern Poland. Most of these companies were heavily reliant on orders for transportation to Russia and Belarus before Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Due to Russia's invasion, the European Union imposed sanctions, virtually reducing the scale of orders for Polish carriers on the Russian route to zero. They have suffered the most economically.
The protesters' demands boil down to two key points, considering the most significant. Firstly, to abolish the liberal regime introduced by Brussels. Although, in reality, this is the standard regime for internal transport within the EU, characteristic of the conditions that all European carriers have within the European Union.
Secondly, the cancellation, by Ukraine, of the requirements for the mandatory using by Polish trucks in the so-called electronic queue ("E-queue"). In reality, this electronic queue was introduced by Kyiv to simplify the work of carriers. A truck registers in the electronic queue and, therefore, have not need physically stand on the road to the border crossing. It can be on a special truck parking lot or even engaged in other transportation within Ukraine. At a certain time, when the queue approaches, the truck moves to the border crossing point.
The mention that a truck waiting to cross the border can undertake other orders within Ukraine is not a joke. For example, as of the morning of November 20, at the Yagodyn-Dorohusk border crossing towards Poland, a separate queue for trucks with food items numbered 520 units with a maximum waiting time of 11 days. At the same border crossing point for other goods, the queue was 2230 units with a waiting time of 6 weeks. This is the maximum queue size, and the situation is not much better at other border crossing points.
In essence, the second demand was about allowing Polish vehicles to exit Ukraine on a skip the line basis. Ukrainian authorities have created maximum opportunities for border crossing, including separate routes for crossing the border with empty trucks. However, this is insufficient for Polish carriers who typically leave Ukraine without cargo.
Leading the protest, which began on November 6 and is declared until January 3, 2024, are the Committee for the Protection of Carriers and Employers in the Transport Sector and the far-right Polish party "Confederation."
Photo: Leader of the Polish hauliers blocking the border, Rafał Mekler(in the center) from the far-right National Movement: "Regarding negotiations, we've practically made no progress. As for positions, they are as follows: the Polish side - accommodating passivity and minimalism in action. There's an obvious lack of a sense of responsibility, linked to resignations." Source: Twitter Rafał Mekler
So Where is the Crisis Headed
As previously mentioned, transport companies from western, northern, and central regions of Poland are not participating in the blockade. For years, they have been focusing on transportation within EU countries, where they already control a significant portion of the trucking market. At the border, it's workers queuing in tents, not drivers from companies in the border regions.
On November 21st, local farmers will join to the blocking near the Medyka-Shehyni border crossing point. These farmers are particularly concerned about Ukrainian grain, oil, and other foodstuffs that Polish goods have to compete with not only domestically but also in other EU countries.
But why has the crisis intensified precisely now? Because in Poland, parliamentary elections took place in mid-October with rather uncertain results. The Law and Justice Party (PiS) received the most seats in parliament but failed to gather a coalition majority. Instead, a group of opposition parties, informally led by Donald Tusk, formed such a majority.
Under Polish law, President Andrzej Duda had the right to allow a representative of PiS and the former Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki the chance to form a new government and gain parliamentary support. And Duda has made it. However, parlament support is lacking, and it's unlikely to be found. Therefore, Morawiecki's government will manage the country for 30 days, after which the ball will be in the opposition's court.
So, since mid-October, Poland has been operating to some extent with a technical government against the backdrop of disputes about the future composition of the government. This doesn't give Morawiecki's team the opportunity to either call on protesting carriers to order or to obtain from Brussels any reconsideration of the national transportation regime that Ukrainian carriers received from the European Commission.
By the way, the European Commission has already signaled that it does not plan to make exceptions for Warsaw. On the contrary, it may initiate disciplinary proceedings if the Polish government does not resolve the issue of the blockade of the border with Ukraine. This is because, under EU rules, the Polish government must ensure the free movement of Ukrainian trucks with goods at border crossings.
Photo: Ukrainian drivers who couldn't cross from Poland to Ukraine due to the ongoing protest have changed their route and try move through Slovakia. Consequently, the queue at the "Uzhhorod – Vysne Nemecke" crossing point reaches 20 kilometers. Source: Getty Images
Against the backdrop of the Polish blockade, a blockade in Slovakia is approaching. The Slovak Association of Transport Companies, ČESMAD Slovakia, has sent a delegation to the Ministry of Transport of Slovakia, asking for more careful checks of Ukrainians for violations of truck requirements. In addition, ČESMAD has requested an inquiry to the EU Council to cancel the liberal regime for Ukrainians, that is, theq demand the use of permits.
Another Slovak association, UNAS, has taken a more drastic step. UNAS also demands the cancellation of the liberal regime, threatening to join the blockade happening in Poland. As a warning, they resorted to a one-hour blockade on November 16th. This is despite the fact that the electronic queue of trucks at the "Uzhhorod(Ukraine) – Vysne Nemecke(Slovakia)" crossing point is approximately 1500 units with a waiting time of more than 11 days.