Lines on Polish-Ukrainian border have worsened, Klimkin says

The lines for vehicles to cross the Ukrainian-Polish
border have worsened in recent years and the problem needs “a complex
resolution,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin said in an interview
published by the Ukrinform news agency on Oct. 26. “This situation …
fundamentally annoys me,” he said. “I believe that Ukrainians and Poles are not
supposed to spend hours in line, and very often, eight, ten or 12 hours. This
affects lives and people’s business who live and work in Ukraine and Poland.”
Several years ago “the situation was better in many ways,” he added.

About 37% of the vehicle traffic consists of Ukrainian
residents with Polish license plates crossing the border to adhere to
regulations, Klimkin said, citing Polish statistics. “We have discussed all
these issues in great detail with the Polish side and declared: ‘Let’s resolve
them in a complex manner and look further. Where there’s our work – we will
work. Where there’s your work – work. Where the European Commission is needed –
we’ll include it. But to leave everything on the border as it is, that’s a true
shame.”

Zenon Zawada: Indeed the
Polish-Ukrainian border is an economic sinkhole for Ukraine, causing millions –
if not billions – of dollars in damage in trade. The long lines for commercial
vehicles, which truly can extend for several days in peak periods, is among the
biggest hurdles to overcome for Ukrainians doing trade with Europe. In his
remarks, Klimkin himself pointed out that Ukrainian produce often spoils simply
because it stays in these lines for so long.

From the Ukrainian side, much of the trouble is
owing to corruption. Bribes are often paid to cross the border quicker, and too
many border officials earn too much money, under the table, from the difficulty
in crossing the border. Unfortunately, we don’t see a serious effort by
President Poroshenko or Prime Minister Grosyman to address this corruption. And
we don’t expect a serious effort from Poroshenko if he’s re-elected.