Poland demands reinstatement of EU restrictions on Ukrainian truckers

Poland is set to call for the European Commission to reinstate restrictions on Ukrainian trucks arriving at the country's border, the government announced.

Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki will demand that the permit system for Ukrainian trucks passing through and arriving in Poland should be restored, in view of a month-long protest at the border, reports Xinhua news agency.

Polish drivers have been blocking border crossings since 6 November, complaining that their business has been undercut by Ukrainian firms.

They want the European Union (EU) to reinstate commercial permits for Ukrainian companies to operate in the bloc, which were waived soon after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine.

The drivers also call for the suspension of operating permits for Ukrainian haulage firms, which were established after the beginning of the conflict.

"We will very strongly and unequivocally demand the restoration of transport permits for Ukrainian drivers," Morawiecki told reporters.

Meanwhile, Ukraine's border service said on Monday, 4 December that the first 30 empty lorries had driven through a newly opened Uhryniv-Dolhobychuv crossing on the Ukrainian-Polish border.

Kiev hopes this will provide some relief, with Polish driver protests blocking other land corridors.

The waiting time on Monday at the Hrebenne crossing was 10 days, with around 900 trucks stuck in a 70-km queue, the Polish Press Agency reported.

Meanwhile, around 520 trucks were waiting in another 16-km-long queue at the Dorohusk crossing, with a five-day clearance time, according to the police in Chelm, a city in southeastern Poland near the border with Ukraine.