In a dispute with Poland over a quota increase for freight carriers, Ukraine has secured an interim victory.

In his article Arbitrage Threats: How Poland Promised Ukraine to Solve the Auto Permissions Issues, European Pravda’s editor Yuriy Panchenko, elaborates on what to expect from the upcoming negotiations.

At a glance, this story might seem local and specialized. Yet, the reduction of Polish quotas might have ramifications for the entire Ukrainian export, thus impacting the country’s economy. 

The Ukraine-Poland dispute started in 2018 when Warsaw decided to reduce the number of annual quotas for Ukrainian auto carriers from 200 thousand to 130 thousand. Back then, the parties managed to agree on a compromise of 160 thousand. Although this number did not suffice, the negotiations continued and in the second part of 2018, Poland agreed to issue extra permissions. 

Last year, however, the situation changed. Warsaw refused to issue extra permissions, disregarding the fact that Ukrainian carriers already require more than 200 thousand permissions. 

It also refused to hold consultations with Ukraine, demanding that Kyiv stop the renovation of the railway road, which has put the transit to Poland on hold.

In these circumstances, Ukraine had no choice but to consider turning to the EU Arbitrage, -- an option provided for in the Association Agreement. Warsaw deemed such a prospect unfavorable, and the talks were resumed shortly after.

On January 31st, the parties agreed on a substantial increase of permissions for the international freight carriers based on Ukrainian and Polish auto carriers’ needs.

The next stage of the negotiations will take place on February 5th. Before that, the parties must decide on a date for holding a meeting of the Mixed Commission on International Auto Carriers, during which they will discuss the quota enlargement. 

Yet, as noted, even 200 thousand quotas is not enough for Ukraine. To find out whether the discussions with Poland will go well and the chances of Kyiv lodging a complaint to the European Commission, read Mr. Panchenko’s article in Ukrainian Arbitrage Threats: How Poland Promised Ukraine to Solve the Auto Permissions Problems.