Queues of trucks on border with Slovakia increase due to blockade

The Ukrainian State Customs Service has recorded an increase in the queue of trucks at the border with Slovakia due to a large number of Ukrainian trucks coming from the direction of Poland.

Source: Ukrinform news agency, citing Viktoriia Senhetovska, a spokeswoman for the Zakarpattia Customs Service, as reported by European Pravda.

Senhetovska said that trucks continue to arrive from the checkpoints at the Polish border, so the queue is increasing.

Quote: "As of yesterday, 16 November, we had 900 cars at the Uzhhorod checkpoint on the Slovak border. The queue is moving little by little – we are processing 250 cars [now], this number reflects our capacity per day. The number of cars that cross the border per day has not changed," Senhetovska said.

She explained that drivers stand in queues for two weeks at the Polish border, while at the Slovak border, they can pass in three or four days, so they go to the Uzhhorod checkpoint.

Reportedly, the Zakarpattia customs officers also direct drivers to the Hungarian checkpoint of Tysa, where the capabilities of the customs are greater, although most drivers choose the Uzhhorod checkpoint on the Slovak border due to the additional distance of 150 km to the route, as well as the fact that some truck weight restrictions apply on the highways of Hungary.

Zakarpattia customs expressed hope that the situation with the Polish border will be resolved through EU sanctions because otherwise, Slovakia and Hungary will also join the blockade originally imposed on Ukraine by Poland, the customs officers say.

Background: 

• Representatives of the Union of Road Hauliers of Slovakia (UNAS) blocked the Vyšné Nemecké border crossing point with Ukraine on 16 November from the Slovak side for an hour, expressing solidarity with the Polish protesters. 
• Slovak hauliers have previously threatened to completely block the border with Ukraine if the European Commission does not intervene in the situation.
• They are demanding that Brussels reinstate the commercial permit system for transportation within the EU, as European companies cannot compete with them. This is the same thing that the protesters on the Polish-Ukrainian border are demanding.
• At the same time, the European Commission insists that one of the key demands of Polish hauliers blocking the border with Ukraine is not legally possible to meet.

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