No agreement with Russia on Polish hauliers

“Unfortunately we deemed the proposed [conditions] for our hauliers, which were presented to us by the Russian side, to be unacceptable,” Szmit commented following the discussions.

“We tried to settle this on the basis of a deal between Poland and the Russian Federation concerning transport, however the Russian side wanted to apply the Federation’s laws, which is contrary to international law,” he added.

Permits for Polish hauliers ran out at the end of January and the drivers were originally required to leave Russia by that date, although the deadline has since been pushed back to mid-February.

The Polish government has previously claimed that this is a Russian attempt to eliminate Polish competition.

According to the deputy minister, accepting the conditions offered by the Russian side would have resulted in the disappearance of 85 percent of Polish hauliers from the Russian market.

Although no date has yet been agreed on for the next meeting, Szmit speculated that the two countries are not far from reaching an understanding and some common ground has already been found.

“The representatives of the Russia Federation have agreed that the law, which discriminates against us, will be changed. They declared that there will be an amendment within two months,” Szmit said.

In 2015 a maximum of 250,000 permits were available for Polish hauliers dealing with Russia, and it is thought that there were around a thousand Polish vehicles entering Russia during an average working day. (sl/nh)

Source: PAP