European haulage companies have a hard time amid rising costs, a shortage of drivers, and tariff chaos. Now, border controls re-established among EU countries is compounding the situation.
00:00Here at the border between Germany and Poland, vehicles crawl across the border.
00:06Cars are stopped and IDs checked.
00:10It's one consequence of Poland's decision to newly reinstate border patrols with two of its European neighbours, Germany and Lithuania.
00:20It's a very sad situation. We fought for a very long time to be in the Schengen zone.
00:26The European Union was enlarged in 2004. At that time, we were very happy.
00:34And today we see border control at the German-Polish border again.
00:41Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk says the measures are necessary to keep undocumented migrants from entering the country.
00:49But critics say illegal immigration is not as big a problem as Tusk asserts it to be.
00:56We have to be careful that the international movement of goods does not become collateral damage of migration control.
01:04Frank Huster leads a federal association for freight and logistics firms in Germany.
01:09He says it's too early to understand the full impact of the new controls.
01:13But the first signs are already showing.
01:15We have news from member companies that the first notices of termination have been received because Polish employees are no longer willing to take on the long waiting times.
01:29It is cross-border commuters who come across the border every day and work in logistics facilities in Brandenburg or in the immediate vicinity around Berlin.
01:40And they are of course slowed down when entering both directions because border controls are geared towards identity checks and there are always delays.
01:49For years, logistics companies have faced one pressure after another. The pandemic, tariffs and now European infighting.
02:00When Poland joined the EU in 2004, it formed an important trade relationship with Germany that significantly boosted growth and fostered investment.
02:12Last year, Germany imported more than 72 billion euros worth of goods from Poland.
02:21That's compared to 5.7 billion euro the year before Poland joined the EU.
02:25And Poland imported more than 60 billion euro in goods from Germany, making it Poland's largest trading partner.
02:32For now, border traffic continues to crawl along, but that could change very quickly.
