The Union of Road Carriers of Slovakia briefly blocked a checkpoint on the border with Ukraine to support its Polish colleagues who are demanding the restoration of a previously abolished permit system for Ukrainian commercial carriers, the head of the association, Stanislav Skala, said on Thursday.
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Polish carriers previously blocked the entrances to checkpoints on the border with Ukraine. They demand the return of the permit system for Ukrainian commercial carriers with exceptions for humanitarian aid and supplies for Ukrainian troops, the suspension of licenses for companies established in Ukraine after February 2022 and their inspection, and the separation of queues of empty and loaded vehicles. As a result, traffic jams of heavy vehicles formed on the Polish side.
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“Our goal is to support our Polish colleagues, as well as all carriers in the European Union. We will ask the European Commission to introduce transport permits for Ukrainian cars as soon as possible, because European companies cannot compete with them,” Skala said.
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According to him, the action was planned for one hour, from 13.00 to 14.00, at the Vysne Nemecke border checkpoint on the border with Ukraine, where in recent days the Slovak police have recorded a congestion of trucks due to a protest by Polish carriers; truck drivers are trying to get into Ukraine through the territory Slovakia, which complicates traffic in the east of the country. Slovak carriers are ready to follow the example of their Polish colleagues and completely block traffic on the border with Ukraine if their opinion is not listened to by the European Commission.
