A temporary UNAS blockade in eastern Slovakia in November 2023. (source: UNAS)
The Union of Slovak Hauliers (UNAS) will start blocking the Slovak-Ukrainian crossing point in Vyšné Nemecké from tomorrow afternoon until further notice.
The blockade of the only Slovak-Ukrainian border crossing for lorries will start on December 1 at 15:00. Every hour, four lorries will be allowed to cross the border.
Humanitarian goods, military aid, animals, fuel and frozen food will be exempted from the blockade.
“We will stand at the border to save Slovak transport,” the organisation said in their press release.
UNAS is calling on the European Union to cancel the road transport agreement with Ukraine. The temporary deal was signed a few months after Russia invaded Ukraine, in June 2022. UNAS claims that the deal harms the market in Slovakia due to a higher number of Ukrainian trucks entering the EU without permits and offering cheaper transport services within the bloc.
“The intention of helping Ukraine in the transportation of grain, fuel, food became the goal of the Ukrainian oligarchy’s earnings,” Slovak hauliers believe.
The deal is valid until June 2024.
Demands to be presented in Brussels
UNAS handed over their demands to Transport Minister Jozef Ráž, a nominee of the ruling Smer party. Slovak hauliers expect the minister to present these demands to EU transport ministers next week on December 4.
The organisation say that they have taken the step to support Polish hauliers, too. Polish hauliers have been blocking several crossing points with Ukraine since early November. The first Slovak blockade initiatives appeared at the Vyšné Nemecké crossing point a few weeks ago.
“We cannot leave them alone in the fight,” said UNAS.
The Slovak Transport Ministry said that it respects the hauliers’ right to protest.
ČESMAD critical of blockade
The Slovak Association of Road Transport Operators (ČESMAD) agree with UNAS in that the EU-Ukraine deal harms Slovak hauliers, but they see the blockade as meaningless as crossing points in other EU member states remain open.
“If we close the crossing point from the EU to Ukraine, Ukrainian vehicles will be here longer, which will have exactly the opposite effect of what we need,” said ČESMAD Slovakia director Pavol Piešťanský, adding that the life of people living in eastern Slovakia would temporarily worsen.
The infrastructure for truckers in the area around the crossing point is imperfect. Municipalities fear a lot of litter, which Ukrainian truckers may leave behind.
On Thursday afternoon, a 20-km tailback formed and about 500 lorries were seen before the Vyšné Nemecké border crossing, the Korzár website wrote. Slovak authorities regularly update waiting times at crossing points.
