Vysne Nemecke Border Crossing Blocked by Van with Trailer

Vysne Nemecke, November 21 (TASR) - As a sign of protest, the Vysne Nemecke crossing point on the Slovak-Ukrainian border was blocked on Tuesday afternoon by a van with a trailer marked by banners with the logo of the Union of Slovak Hauliers (UNAS). UNAS distances itself from this and claims that it is an activity of an individual. "The police are monitoring the situation and are ready to take appropriate measures. In these moments, traffic police officers are supervising the proceedings of the reported event, the observance of public order, and they are trying to ensure the smoothest possible course of action," TASR was told by spokeswoman for the Police Corps Presidium Denisa Bardyova. UNAS posted on a social network that based on information in the Polish media, they decided to wait for the outcome of Wednesday's (November 22) talks between the European Commission (EC) and representatives of the Ukrainian and Polish governments. A meeting of Polish and Ukrainian hauliers is scheduled for Tuesday. In the event that no agreement is reached and Polish carriers continue to protest, UNAS will join these protests in Slovakia. "Why would we block now when we don't know what will be agreed upon," noted UNAS head Stanislav Skala, adding that despite the decision of the leadership, the crossing was blocked by one of its members. UNAS blocked the Vysne Nemecke crossing point for one hour on Thursday (November 16) to support their Polish colleagues who had been protesting for several days against the liberalisation of EU rules for Ukrainian hauliers. Slovak hauliers threatened that if the European Commission (EC) fails to address the situation, they will block the border with Ukraine permanently. They demand that Brussels immediately introduces transport permits for Ukrainian lorries, as European [haulier] companies are failing and can't compete with them. am/mcs