Photo from UNIAN
Omelyan says the Polish side unilaterally and significantly reduced the number of shipping authorizations.
Ukraine could launch a complaint with the European Commission about the actions of Poland, which unilaterally and significantly reduced a shipment quota for Ukrainian road transport, which contradicts the Ukraine-EU Association Agreement, says Minister of Infrastructure Volodymyr Omelyan.
"The Polish side starting this year has significantly reduced the number of bilateral permits for Ukrainian goods' shipment to Poland or via Poland. This quota has decreased significantly. While last year we had 260,000 contracts, this year it's 160,000. Unfortunately, repeated negotiations have yielded no results. The Poles clearly state that they are protecting their own market," the minister told a briefing Tuesday.
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"I hope that during the meeting of the president of Ukraine and the president of Poland scheduled for early September, the issue will be raised and the interests of Ukrainian road carriers will be protected. If this doesn't work, we are ready to apply to the European Commission, because by such unilateral actions the Polish side violates the Ukraine-EU Association Agreement," the minister added.
As UNIAN reported earlier, last fall Poland reduced the quota for Ukrainian carriers to 130,000 contracts, then raising it to 165,000 following talks. However, according to Omelyan, this amount is not sufficient for Ukraine, and therefore the minister expected to negotiate with Poland on a significant increase in the number of permits issued.