Future Polish Prime Minister Tusk promised to immediately unblock the border with Ukraine

Donald Tusk, the leader of the largest coalition in the newly elected Polish parliament, who is likely to head the country’s government, announced his intention to resolve problematic issues in relations with Ukraine. Tusk criticized the actions of the current government of Mateusz Morawiecki and said that he would immediately take up the task of fixing such problems as blocking cargo transportation on the border with Ukraine.

According to Tusk, he will act in the interests of Polish carriers, but will seek to resolve the issues so that the blockade of the border is lifted.

He also told reporters that he hopes to vote for the new cabinet on Tuesday, December 12, and swear in the government on Wednesday, so that he can attend the EU summit in Brussels the next day.

The EU summit on December 14-15 is expected to address, among other things, key issues such as the possibility of starting negotiations on Ukraine’s membership, as well as a multi-year, 50 billion euro program of European assistance to Ukraine.

Tusk was also asked whether he could influence Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who promised to vote against allocating aid to Ukraine and starting negotiations on its accession to the European Union before the December EU summit.

In response, the Polish politician noted that Viktor Orban’s ties with Russia and Russian President Vladimir Putin are “organic,” and therefore his ability to persuade the Hungarian leader is limited.

As reported, the current Prime Minister of Poland, Mateusz Morawiecki, did not oppose the border blockade and promised to demand that the European Commission restore the system of permits for Ukrainian road carriers, which is what the protesters are demanding.

It is worth noting that Morawiecki may lose his post as Prime Minister of Poland in the near future. Despite the victory of his Law and Justice party in the elections, it will not be able to form a coalition alone. At the same time, the largest opposition parties have already formed coalitions and presented their programs. Donald Tusk will be the opposition candidate for prime minister.

As a reminder, on November 6, Polish carriers went on strike and blocked truck traffic across the Ukrainian-Polish border. In particular, the traffic of freight transport in the direction of the three largest checkpoints “Korczowa-Krakowiec”, “Hrebenne-Rava Ruska”, “Dorohusk-Yagodyn” was blocked. Later, on November 23, the carriers blocked the Medyka-Shehyni checkpoint.

The protesters are demanding a ban on the registration of transport companies with foreign capital in Poland, which is driving Polish entrepreneurs out of the market. They also demand the restoration of entry permits to the European Union for Ukrainian carriers and improved border services. The action of Polish carriers was planned to last for two months, until the end of the year.

Negotiations between Ukrainian government officials and the protesters did not yield any results, and Mustafa Nayyem, head of the State Agency for Reconstruction and Development, emphasized that Ukraine would not even discuss some of the demands of Polish carriers.

Tags: Ukraine, Poland, protests