TRUCKERS from eastern EU member states are pressing their governments and Brussels to curb 'unfair competition' from Ukraine, reports Bloomberg.
Members of the International Road Transport Union from Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Lithuania asking European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen for a review of an agreement that allows traffic liberalisation with Ukraine.
Tivadar Arvay, secretary of MKFE, the largest road transport organisation in Hungary said the current deal, which expires in June 2024, distorts the market and causes irreversible damage to Hungarian and EU truckers.
truckers want the current agreement scrapped or at least not prolonged.
'We ask and urge all decision makers involved to consider termination or significant changes to the current EU-Ukraine arrangement without delay and thus enable a return to implementation of bilateral agreements of the single EU countries with Ukraine,' said the MKFE website.
The EU allowed Ukrainian carriers to move goods without obtaining permits for an easier and faster flow of shipments following the start of Russia's invasion. Current tensions are reminiscent of a conflict over grain shipments from Ukraine that led Poland and Hungary to put in place unilateral import bans.
Polish truckers began blocking three crossings with Ukraine on November 6, causing as many as 20,000 vehicles to get stuck on both sides of the border.
Slovak truckers blocked a border crossing with Ukraine for an hour in support of their Polish colleagues.
The European Commission said that any re-introduction of permits or quotas for road transport from Ukraine isn't legally possible as it would violate the current agreement between the EU and Kiev.
SeaNews Turkey
Members of the International Road Transport Union from Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Lithuania asking European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen for a review of an agreement that allows traffic liberalisation with Ukraine.
Tivadar Arvay, secretary of MKFE, the largest road transport organisation in Hungary said the current deal, which expires in June 2024, distorts the market and causes irreversible damage to Hungarian and EU truckers.
truckers want the current agreement scrapped or at least not prolonged.
'We ask and urge all decision makers involved to consider termination or significant changes to the current EU-Ukraine arrangement without delay and thus enable a return to implementation of bilateral agreements of the single EU countries with Ukraine,' said the MKFE website.
The EU allowed Ukrainian carriers to move goods without obtaining permits for an easier and faster flow of shipments following the start of Russia's invasion. Current tensions are reminiscent of a conflict over grain shipments from Ukraine that led Poland and Hungary to put in place unilateral import bans.
Polish truckers began blocking three crossings with Ukraine on November 6, causing as many as 20,000 vehicles to get stuck on both sides of the border.
Slovak truckers blocked a border crossing with Ukraine for an hour in support of their Polish colleagues.
The European Commission said that any re-introduction of permits or quotas for road transport from Ukraine isn't legally possible as it would violate the current agreement between the EU and Kiev.
SeaNews Turkey
