The Baltic region has seen a notable surge in congestion at the European Union’s external frontiers, with the Belarusian border service reporting a weekend uptick in truck queues by about a quarter. The information came through the Belarusian State Border Committee’s official Telegram channel, signaling heightened pressure on customs and clearance channels at several crossing points.
Delays were particularly evident for heavy goods vehicles at multiple border checkpoints. In Lithuania, the Medininkai checkpoint (known in Belarusian as Kamenny Log) and the Lavoriškės (Kotlovka) crossing, along with Shalčininkai (Benyakoni) and Raigardas (Privalka), experienced slower processing rates. On the Polish side, Kukuryki also faced slower throughput, contributing to a broader pattern of congestion across the EU external border during the period.
Official figures from the border service indicate that Lithuanian authorities admitted only about 34% of the usual truck traffic into their territory, while Poland accepted roughly 55% of the normal volume. This reduction in throughput underscores a coordinated or reactive tightening of border controls that affects supply chains and cross-border movement for both freight and passenger transit.
Meanwhile, the busiest route for passenger vehicles into the EU remained the Terespol crossing, which connects to Brest on the Belarusian side. The Belarusian border department noted that, over a two-day window, the neighboring side allowed through only about 35% of car traffic, reflecting a broader slowdown in vehicle transit at several key conduits between Belarus and the EU.
Looking ahead, the morning of March 20 was anticipated to bring around 900 trucks and 100 cars crossing into the EU on the Belarusian side, a projection that suggests continued strain on border facilities and scheduling systems as operators navigate the current congestion dynamics.
Historical context notes that, by late February, a large queue had formed along the exit corridor from Poland into Belarus for trucks, with reports of a traffic jam extending to roughly 60 kilometers. At that time, the estimated waiting time to clear the border was around 63 hours, highlighting the persistent challenges faced by cross-border transport during peak periods and seasonal fluxes in trade volumes.