Brussels, 06/02/2008 (Agence Europe) - The problems on the border between Ukraine and Poland, which are perceived as an inevitable part of Warsaw's entry into the Schengen agreement, increased throughout the month of January: traffic jams, strikes, attempts at corruption. A solution may be about to be found, with an agreement between the two countries on local border traffic planned for 12 and 13 February. The agreement could be signed during an official visit by Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk to Ukraine around 26 February. Prior to the enlargement of the Schengen area, Ukrainians benefited from free Polish visas which were easy to obtain. The tightening of visa arrangements - the price of which is now set at €35 - affects the population of western Ukraine, who are accustomed to travelling to Poland to do business or work there. A large number of people passed the crossing point at Medyka, a dozen or so kilometres from the Polish village of Przemysl, and one of the few places where the border between Ukraine and Poland can be crossed on foot. Now 20 000 people cross there, which is 30 % less than before enlargement, the Polish daily newspaper Polityka reports. The Polish consulate in Ukraine used to issue 300 000 visas per year. Currently it is receiving 800-900 applications per day (instead of 2000) and issuing just 400. There are several reasons for this: the consulate's website has been hacked, slowing down the registration of applications, the Schengen Information System (SIS) is slow and suffers constant hold-ups, and many documents for visa applications are falsified (false employer attestations go for $150 on the black market). The signature of an agreement on local border traffic will therefore come as a relief to both populations. Ukraine has already signed a local border traffic agreement with Hungary. Ukrainian nationals from the border region (within 50 km of the border) can enter Hungarian territory without a visa. The signature of a similar agreement with Slovakia has already been announced. If such an agreement is made with Ukraine, it could benefit some 700 000 Ukrainians. (A.By.) (B.C.)