Polish truckers have reached a temporary agreement with the Polish government to halt protests, according to an announcement made by the Polish Ministry of Infrastructure on Tuesday. The protests, which commenced on November 6, 2023, and have seen truckers blockading the Poland-Ukraine border, will cease until March 1 following this agreement, which was negotiated by the Minister of Infrastructure, Dariusz Klimcza. The truckers’ main contention lays with their insistence that the European Union reinstate the requirement for Ukrainian companies to have permits before operating. These protests also reflected their demands for EU financial support for Polish haulage companies and for controlling the surge of EU-registered Ukrainian truckers. The agreement followed months of impasse and accusations of intransigence from both sides, according to reports from JURIST.
Edyta Ozygała, a protest leader in Dorohusk, pointed out a major reason for the protests was the waiving of permit requirements for Ukrainian drivers after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. This move, she argued, had a significant negative impact on their earnings and created lengthy lines at entry points along the Ukrainian-Polish border. The suspension of permits was expected to last until July 2024.
Oleksandr Kubrakov, the Ukrainian Minister for Communities and Territories Development and Infrastructure, addressed the sharp rise in Ukrainian hauliers to Poland. He attributed this primarily to the increase in humanitarian aid and fuel exports. The Ukrainian Minister countered the protestors’ claim that the agreement to suspend Ukrainian permits had negatively impacted Polish trucker’s earnings.
Notably, both countries had been affected economically by this impasse. Serhiy Derkach, Deputy Minister of Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development of Ukraine, was keen to end the protest due to the “critical economic losses” the standoff had incurred. Following difficult negotiations, a preliminary agreement was unveiled by Rafal Mekler, a lead organizer of the Polish protests. The pact, posted on social media, includes a clause ensuring talks with the European Commission about securing financial support for Polish haulers. Despite this breakthrough, concerns linger. Tomasz Buczek, another protest organizer, expressed doubts about whether the agreement could withstand pressures or comprehensively address all their concerns. Nonetheless, he confirmed his willingness to cease protests at the current time.