All of Polish carriers' demands cannot be met, but Ukrainian government should be proactive

Dmytro Aftanas, Vice Chairman of the Council of the Polish-Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Lviv Region, said this in a comment to Espreso. 

"Undoubtedly, the blockade of the border has a negative impact on the economy - Ukrainian companies will lose, and they will lose heavily. First of all, our government should be more proactive and resolve the issue through negotiations and agreements. Carriers themselves can hardly solve anything among themselves," says Dmytro Aftanas. "I think the European Commission will also have an impact, because Poland, as a member of the European Union, has to listen to the decisions made by the EU. And here, too, our government needs to work more actively. At the moment, we can only regret that our friends, our neighbors, are solving issues through strikes."

According to Dmytro Aftanas, the main reason for the conflict is that the cost of transportation on the Polish side is higher than on the Ukrainian side. We have slightly lower fuel prices, but primarily because of wages, which are much higher in Poland.

"Back in the day, when the Polish side was blocking Ukrainian grain, the president of the Polish-Ukrainian Chamber, former Minister of Economy of Poland Jacek Piechota said that this was not the way to solve problems. We need to look for common ways to sell goods, if we are talking about grain. We also need to negotiate jointly on transportation," says Dmytro Aftanas. "It is difficult and even unrealistic to fulfill the requirements that the Poles are asking for in full. But there must be a way to negotiate and find a compromise. And our government should get involved, including the Minister of Economy and the Prime Minister. This should be decided at the state level, not at the border."

• In late October, it became known that Polish carriers were going to block the border with Ukraine. The reason was excessive competition following the liberalization of international transportation between Ukraine and the EU.
• In this regard, the Ministry of Community Development, Territories and Infrastructure of Ukraine initiated a meeting with Poland and the European Commission. 
• In addition, Ukraine sent an official note to Poland because of the intention of Polish carriers to go on strike at the Ukrainian-Polish border.
• On November 6, Polish carriers went on strike at the Polish-Ukrainian border. As a result, traffic for trucks has been hampered.