A four-way working meeting was held at the Rava-Ruska – Hrebenne international road border crossing point. It was attended by the management of the Lviv and Volyn customs offices, representatives of the Western Regional Directorate of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, as well as the customs and border services of the Republic of Poland. The main topic of discussion was ensuring the smooth movement of freight transport across the Ukrainian-Polish border.
The participants analysed the factors that may significantly change the logistics of international transport in the near future. Among them are the complications of maritime transport due to the security situation in the Black Sea, restrictions on navigation on the Danube caused by low water levels, as well as the seasonal increase in exports of agricultural products. These circumstances affect the import and export of goods and are forcing businesses to switch to alternative land routes.
In view of the expected redistribution of freight flows, the parties anticipate increased pressure on the international road border crossing points in the area of responsibility of the Lviv and Volyn customs offices, primarily on routes where freight vehicles weighing over 7.5 tonnes are processed. The Ukrainian side reported that it is ready to increase the number of staff handling customs formalities in order to boost the throughput of the crossing points and clear more lorries.
They also discussed separately how to ensure a steady, well-paced flow of freight vehicles to the crossing points from the Ukrainian side. A coordinated and even flow should help improve the distribution of traffic and reduce queues at the border.
Following the meeting, the parties agreed to maintain constant information exchange, respond promptly to changes in the situation at the border and hold a follow-up working meeting after a certain period of time. At the next meeting, they plan to assess the effectiveness of the measures introduced, analyse the results and define the next steps in their cooperation.
“Efficient operation of border crossing points is impossible without constant communication, mutual trust and well-coordinated action by all services on both sides of the border. Today’s meeting has once again confirmed our shared readiness to respond swiftly to challenges, seek practical solutions and act as a single team. I sincerely thank our Polish colleagues for their constructive dialogue, openness to cooperation and willingness to work together to ensure uninterrupted traffic across the border. This kind of interaction is the key to the stable operation of crossing points and effective international cooperation,” said Ivan Kerezvas