Blockade of Ukrainian Trucks at EU Borders — a Bad Sign for Ukraine – Welt

Resistance to trade concessions for Ukraine is spreading.

This is reported by Die Welt.

Following the blockade of Ukrainian trucks at the Polish border, Slovakia has announced a tightening of the import ban, and French sugar producers have also joined protests. Experts note that for Ukraine, this signals prolonged and tough negotiations regarding its accession to the European Union.

On Thursday, Ukraine for the first time transported trucks by train to Poland to bypass the blockade by Polish long-haul drivers, writes the German newspaper Die Welt. The first train carried 23 trucks across the border in a trial run, as explained by the Ukrainian railway company. Upon arrival in Poland, the trucks continued their journey by road. The truck drivers themselves were transported across the border by bus. Now the goal is to expedite the process to load as many trucks as possible and eliminate traffic jams at the border.

Polish truck drivers began blocking border crossings with Ukraine at the beginning of November. They complain about unfair competition from Ukrainian companies after the EU suspended several conditions for cross-border transport due to the Russian special operation in Ukraine. According to Polish carriers, many Ukrainian truck drivers entering Poland transport goods to other countries from there. This undermines local companies that cannot compete with lower Ukrainian prices.

Officially, there are currently 3,000 trucks stranded at the border between the two countries. Ukrainian drivers are forced to wait for days in the cold to cross the border. The kilometer-long queues of trucks are a clear sign of growing resistance to EU measures aimed at simplifying trade procedures for Ukraine, the publication emphasizes.

This is an unprecedented step from a historical perspective—Brussels opened the EU market to Ukraine. Customs duties were suspended, quotas for agricultural products were abolished, Ukraine’s power grid was connected to the EU grid in record time, and Ukrainian mobile users can even benefit from consumer-friendly EU roaming rules for making cheap calls abroad.

“Thanks to the support and solidarity of the EU, Ukraine gained access to the market in an accelerated mode, which is usually granted only in the stage of preparation for accession or even after joining the EU,” notes Kai-Olaf Lang from the German Institute for International and Security Affairs in Berlin. “Currently, this leads to distortions not only in neighboring countries, where the consequences are felt by farmers and shippers.”

Farmers in border regions in eastern Poland and Romania already protested against imports from Ukraine last year. Ukrainian grain, which was supposed to be sold in the Middle East, last year ended up in large quantities in bordering agricultural regions, damaging the businesses of local farmers.

Meanwhile, Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia in September unilaterally re-imposed a ban on the sale of wheat, corn, rapeseed, and sunflower seeds from Ukraine, despite these unilateral actions violating EU legislation. However, resistance to trade concessions for Ukraine is spreading. At the end of November, Slovakia announced a tightening of the import ban: the country will prohibit the import of other products such as honey, sugar, malt, and soybeans from Ukraine. Slovakian long-haul drivers are also blocking border crossings to Ukraine.

And the resistance is no longer limited to neighboring countries. French sugar producers and farmers cultivating sugar beets are also taking a stand: since the lifting of import restrictions, sugar imports from Ukraine to the EU have increased tenfold. Recently, EU poultry farmers complained that chicken and eggs from Ukraine are undermining their business.

Due to the growing resistance, observers fear that economic upheavals could undermine fundamental support for Ukraine. Polish analytical centers warned about this last week. However, experts believe that such concerns are unfounded.

“These special interest groups, which are particularly vocal in raising alarm, do not undermine the overall support for Ukraine,” believes Matthias Kullas from the Center for European Policy in Freiburg. “Presumably, even these groups are not against easing the burden for Ukraine; they just want compensation for their losses.”