Hungary gets Ukrainian truck queues as protests clog Polish, Slovak crossings

FILE PHOTO: Ukrainian trucks wait at the Hungarian-Ukrainian border, in Zahony, Hungary, April 19, 2023. REUTERS/Bernadett Szabo/File Photo

BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Hungary's main border crossing with Ukraine saw long queues on Wednesday, the customs authority said, with haulers re-routing from crossings in Poland and Slovakia amid blockades there as truckers seek restrictions on Ukrainian drivers.

Trucks at the Poland-Ukraine crossing are backed up for miles as Polish truckers have blocked roads to three border crossings in a protest, now in its second week.

In Slovakia, the main border crossing with Ukraine was also blocked on Tuesday, although the country's haulers' union called it the action of a single truck. The group has still warned it could join Polish truckers in protest.

Truckers have sought to win restrictions on the number of Ukrainian trucks entering the European Union.

Truckers from Ukraine have been exempt from seeking permits to cross since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Polish and Slovak drivers say that has undercut business.

The spillover of long border queues hit Hungary on Wednesday, with the main border crossing, Zahony, seeing long queues of trucks waiting to enter Ukraine.

Authorities were stepping up efforts to let the increased traffic through their border, the Hungarian Tax and Customs Authority said, but the "capacity of the Tisza bridge and the crossing point is severely limiting their possibilities."

Slovak news website Dennik N reported that the blockage at the Slovakia-Ukraine crossing that started around midday on Tuesday ended just before midnight, although queues there remained.

Polish truckers will also begin blocking the Medyka crossing together with farmers on Thursday, a protest organizer said.

Ukraine and Poland held talks on the blockages at their border last week but did not report any progress. The sides were to have talks with the EU on Wednesday.

On Sunday, Ukrainian authorities said about 3,000 mostly Ukrainian trucks, including those carrying fuel and humanitarian aid, were stuck on the Polish side of the border.

(Reporting by Boldizsar Gyori; Editing by Jason Hovet and Bernadette Baum)