Polish farmers are currently blocking truck traffic at the border only at the Rava-Ruska checkpoint, allowing several vehicles to pass through per hour.

Denys Marchuk, the UAC Deputy Chairman, explained why the blockade was eased and what are the prospects for the final resumption of cargo traffic across the Ukrainian-Polish border:

“The 2nd round of local elections in Poland has ended, and Prime Minister Donald Tusk's position in communicating with the protesters has become tougher and more radical towards them. What could not be done before the election became possible after the election process: the Polish Prime Minister “suddenly” mentioned that customs crossings are critical, that local governments have the right to terminate the strikers' actions, and that a decision of the voivodeships is sufficient. Donald Tusk allows the usage of local authorities to remove protesters from border crossings.”

The Polish-Ukrainian negotiations are entering a new stage.

“Since the politically important election process in Poland is over, we are now moving to more calm economic direction: discussing the conditions of transit of Ukrainian products. Another factor of influence is the vote in the European Parliament and the continuation of the liberalization policy towards exports from Ukraine. However, the restrictions will be more significant than last year, and emergency brakes will be applied to a number of products, which was also demanded by the protesters. It should be noted that the Poles have achieved a number of financial priorities from the EU. Donald Tusk assured that the Polish authorities would compensate for the costs they had incurred allegedly because of Ukrainian grain. So in general, all the demands have been practically met. And it is no coincidence that the situation improved with the end of the second round of local elections, which proves that the political issue was the key one in the border blockade,” Denys Marchuk said.

The question remains whether the unblocking of the borders with Poland will be permanent or situational.

“A new stage of negotiations between Ukraine and Poland is expected in late April or early May. Then the issue of full border unblocking will be raised. According to the IMF, the Ukrainian economy has suffered significant losses over the past six months of the blockade. It is interesting that some European carriers have urged their populations not to use the services of Polish operators,” added the UAC Deputy Chairman.