MINSK, 17 November (BelTA) – The restoration of cross-border traffic in Poland’s Podlaskie Voivodeship, following the opening of two border crossings with Belarus, is “like oxygen” for the region, according to Ewelina Grygatowicz-Szumowska, representative of the Alliance of the Polish Entrepreneurs “United East”, the PAP news agency reports.
“This is the driving force of our micro- and macroeconomy. We, entrepreneurs, are resuming work and recouping losses,” she said.
The Polish Ministry of the Interior and Administration stated that the decision to reopen the crossings came after consultations with local authorities and businesses of Podlaskie Voivodeship, which had long demanded the opening of at least one vehicle border crossing in the region. The crossing in Kuznica had been closed for four years, and the crossing in Bobrowniki for over two and a half years.
At a press conference in Bobrowniki, Voivode of Podlaskie Voivodeship Jacek Brzozowski emphasized that during the closures, “Podlaskie entrepreneurs lost their property and livelihoods.” He noted that while Podlaskie Voivodeship is an agricultural region, it is also one where border and cross-border trade has always played a fundamental role. The abandonment of this in 2021 and 2023 has simply led to the collapse of the region’s entrepreneurial economy,” he stated.
Deputy Head of the National Revenue Administration of Poland Zbigniew Stawicki added that civil servants must take into account “interests related to people’s daily lives.”
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