Ukraine has lost almost ₴10B through the Polish border blockade; The EC seeks to preserve transport visa-free.

Ukraine’s losses are associated with a 40% export drop due to blocked checkpoints. The state budget of Ukraine lost ₴9.3B due to the loss of these customs payments, said the head of the specialized parliamentary committee, Danylo Hetmantsev. The carriers announced losses of €400M in the first two weeks of the blockade alone.

Meanwhile, Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary supported the cancellation of transport visa-free with Ukraine at the meeting of the Transport Council of the EC. However, the EC is in favor of preserving the agreement providing for the Liberalization of Freight Transportation, which exempts Ukrainian drivers from obtaining permits for international transportation, said European Commissioner Adina Valean.

At the same time, she supported the meeting of the joint committee initiated by Poland, to discuss problems related to the operation of the agreement. However, Valean considers these discussions appropriate “after solving the critical situation at the border,” which she accused the Polish authorities of delaying.